The Commonwealth Games are a major sporting occasion which brings together young people from all over the world in friendly competition.

The Queen often attends the Commonwealth Games to open or close them - most recently, the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, Australia.

In all these different ways The Queen, though not part of the machinery of government in the Commonwealth, acts as a personal link and human symbol of the Commonwealth as an international organisation.

The first time The Queen attended the Games in her capacity as Head of the Commonwealth was in Edinburgh in 1970, and most recently, the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, Australia.

The Queen’s Baton Relay
The Queen’s Baton Relay has been an important pre-cursor to the Commonwealth Games since the Cardiff 1958 games. The relay symbolises the gathering of people from across the Commonwealth at the four-yearly event.

The relay traditionally begins with a ceremony at Buckingham Palace on Commonwealth Day. There, Her Majesty entrusts the baton containing her ‘message to the athletes’ to the first honorary relay runner.

The relay concludes at the Opening Ceremony, as the final relay runner hands the baton back to Her Majesty, or her representative, and the message is read aloud. At that moment the relay ends and the Games begin.

Over the years, The Queen’s Baton Relay has evolved into a powerful symbol of the unity and diversity of the Commonwealth of Nations.