Commonwealth Games baton
The Queen’s baton relay came to Bermuda yesterday, the 59th stop on it’s journey around current territories and former glories.
The baton began its journey in Glasgow on October 9th, 2013 and travelled first to Asia, then Oceania, Africa, South America, and then the Caribbean. The baton was last in Belize and via a turnaround at Miami airport it arrived in Bermuda on Friday night.
The baton flies to Canada today and then will visit Cyprus, Malta, Gibraltar and the Channel Islands before reaching the UK and the Queen will await its return in Glasgow for the Commonwealth Games Opening Ceremony on July 23rd.
The baton, Scottish designed and made, spent the early morning yesterday at St George’s and then travelled west across the island to the parishes of Devonshire, Pembroke, Paget and Warwick.
We caught sight of it outside the Cabinet Office in Hamilton where the Premier and a few dignitaries welcomed the baton alongside a smattering of locals, school children and surprised tourists. To add to the tourist’s bewilderment Premier Cannonier joined in the dancing with the local Gombey troupe!
Bermuda’s only ever gold medalist, Nicky Saunders was also on hand. Saunders won the high jump gold in Auckland in 1990.
Bermuda first entered the Commonwealth Games in 1930, they missed the first post war one in Auckland, 1950 but made world news when the island rather haphazardly boycotted the 1986 Games in Edinburgh.
32 of the 59 invited nations boycotted those Games, mostly countries from Africa, Asian and the Caribbean angered by the British government’s attitude to apartheid-era South Africa.
Most of the 32 countries boycotting made a quick decision not to go to Scotland, but Bermuda’s machination was clouded in confusion.
The Athletes made the journey to Edinburgh and even managed to get onto the track for the Opening Ceremony and got a rousing cheer from the Scottish crowd, ridiculing the thoughts that the Bermuda team’s safety was at risk.
Nonetheless late into the night the Bermuda Olympic Association and the Bermudian Premier Sir John Swan continued their dialogue and it was decided that the island would boycott the Games, so a handful of Bermudian athletes who had made the journey, and proudly taken part in the Opening Ceremony had to pack their bags and return home.
