SVG to host Queen’s Baton Relay leg this weekend

St Vincent and the Grenadines will for the fourth occasion host a leg of the Queen Baton Relay (QBR) from June 3 to 7.

However, the visiting party will not be afforded the usual VIP treatment at the Argyle International Airport (AIA).

The National Olympic Committee of St Vincent and the Grenadines was informed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in response to a request for the use of the VIP lounge at the AIA, that the personnel involved are not among the list who qualify for such status.

The Queen’s Baton is set to arrive in St Vincent and the Grenadines on Saturday, June 3, about 3:15 p.m., and is scheduled to depart on Wednesday, June 7, at 3:55 p.m.

Reports are that the format of this year’s QBR will be different from previous hosting, with an “unusual” mode of transportation listed for the events.

In 2014, ahead of the 2014 Commonwealth Games held in Glasgow, Scotland, SVG’s staging of the QBR saw the baton traversing the Windward side of the island, as well as the Grenadine island of Mustique.

One of 71 member countries of the Commonwealth, St Vincent and the Grenadines tasted its first hosting of the QBR ahead of the 2006 games, which were staged in Melbourne, Australia.

The QBR is a promotional activity organized by the hosts of Gold Coast 2018 and the Queen’s Baton carries a message from Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.

The 2018 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XXI Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Gold Coast 2018, is an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth that will be held on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia, April 4-15, 2018.

St Vincent and the Grenadines Olympic Committee will participate in the Games with a national representative team.

St Vincent and the Grenadines was part of the inaugural edition, back in 1958, held in Cardiff, Wales, when the games were known as the British Empire Games.

Representing SVG at the Cardiff Games were sprinter Lloyd Elton Anderson, along with quarter-miler Owen “Sap” Coombs and Goff Roberts, who specialized in the high jump, long jump and the pole vault.

Anderson was the lone athlete who survived to have the privilege of carrying the Queen’s Baton on the last two occasions it came to St Vincent and the Grenadines. Anderson, though, died last year.

Up until 1958, and including the 1994 Games, the relay only went through England and the host nation.

The relay traditionally begins at Buckingham Palace in London as a part of the city’s Commonwealth Day festivities.

Queen Elizabeth II started the countdown to the 2018 Commonwealth Games, launching the baton relay at Buckingham Palace.

The baton for Gold Coast 2018 was designed by Brisbane-based company Designworks to reflect the local culture and life of Queensland.