Queen's Baton for Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games revealed
The handcrafted Commonwealth Baton for the Glasgow 2014 Games has been revealed, designed by 4c Design Limited’s William Mitchell and featuring titanium, wood and granite.
The Queen’s Baton was revealed at an event held at the Glasgow Transport Museum and broadcast live on BBC One during the closing minutes of The One Show, ahead of beginning its journey across the UK in the build up to next year’s Games.
According to the Games organising committee, the design of the baton aims to symbolise the culture of both Glasgow and Scotland, while representing its history of innovation.
Four main elements make up the design: the illuminated Queen’s message, placed inside a transparent cylinder and housed within a titanium latticework frame, is illuminated by LED lights, which will be read for the first time during the opening ceremony; the lattice framework, aiming to represent the design of Charles Rennie Mackintosh, which was created using 3D printing style technology; the Elm source baton, in tribute to Scotland’s natural resources; and its granite gemstone housed at the top of the baton, which can only be opened using a mechanism added to represent the country’s history of box puzzles.
Mitchell described designing the Queen’s Baton as “a privilege and an honour”, adding that it had been “a wonderful opportunity” for the team at 4c Design.
“It's been an exciting journey and one which we could not have taken without the amazing contribution from many talented individuals and companies here in Scotland, and from the team at Glasgow 2014. Collaboration has been pivotal to what you see before you and we now look forward to following the Baton's journey. We hope that people across the Commonwealth will enjoy seeing the Baton as much as we have enjoyed designing it,” he added.
The Queen’s Baton will begin its 288 day journey to 71 nations and territories across the Commonwealth on 9 October, before returning to Scotland next June.
