King Charles to launch baton relay for 2026 Glasgow Commonwealth Games
The King is to launch the baton relay ahead of the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.
King Charles will launch the King's Baton Relay at Buckingham Palace today, ahead of the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games. He will hand the baton to champion cyclist Sir Chris Hoy - the first bearer on its journey around the world. The start of the baton relay marks 500 days until the games begin in July next year.
He will hand the baton to cyclist Sir Chris Hoy - the first bearer on its journey around the world. The next three baton bearers will be wheelchair racer Sammi Kinghorn, ocean plastics campaigner Keiran Healy and Trinidad & Tobago judo athlete Gabriella Wood - who studies at the University of Stirling. Trinidad & Tobago will be the first destination for the relay.
King Charles will be joined by the Queen, Prince and Princess of Wales at the Family of Nations event during the annual Commonwealth Day service at Westminster Abbey.
The King, who is head of the Commonwealth, gives an annual address each year to the family of 56 nations. In his message Charles said: “Leaders recently reiterated the importance of collaboration for peace and human rights, as well as for the restoration of nature both on land and in the oceans.
“As we mark Commonwealth Day together, there is no more important task than to restore the disrupted harmony of our entire planet.
“For the sake of our younger generations’ threatened future, I can only hope that the Commonwealth will continue its vital work to restore that harmony.”
Commonwealth Day is also being marked by the release of a playlist Charles has compiled following a collaboration with Apple Music for his King’s Music Room show.
Bob Marley, Kylie Minogue, Grace Jones and contemporary artists Davido and Raye are among those who make it into Charles’s top tracks from across the Commonwealth.