Queen's Baton coming to Rwanda for second time

Queen’s Baton will come to Rwanda for the second time as part of its continued relay around the Commonwealth member states in the run-up to the 2018 Commonwealth Games that will be held on Gold Coast in Queensland, Australia on April 4-15. The Baton is expected in Rwanda from Ghana on Wednesday, March 22 and will spend two days here, according to Rwanda Olympic and Sports Committee (RNOSC). In a brief statement, RNOSC said preparations were underway to receive the Baton in Rwanda. The Queen’s Baton is an equivalent of the Olympics Torch for the Olympic Games. On its first coming to Rwanda in January 2014, the Baton, which received a warm welcome, was moved around Musanze and Nyanza districts. The Baton will be relayed in 18 African countries including Sierra Leone, Ghana, Rwanda, Uganda, Cameroon, Nigeria, Kenya, Tanzania, Seychelles, Mauritius, Malawi, Zambia, Namibia, Botswana, Mozambique, Swaziland, Lesotho and South Africa. The Baton was officially launched on March 13, by the Queen of the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, who is also the Head of the Commonwealth. It began with a grand ceremony on the forecourt of Buckingham Palace before the torch, carrying a special message from the Queen, headed off on a 388-day, 230,000km journey to the Gold Coast. The Baton will be moved to 52 Commonwealth nations and territories in Africa, the Americas, the Caribbean, Oceania, Asia and Europe before it arrives to spend the final 100 days on Australian soil. Rwanda joined the Commonwealth in November 2009 during the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Trinidad & Tobago. The country made its Commonwealth Games debut at the 19th Commonwealth Games in Delhi, taking part in athletics, boxing, road cycling and swimming. editorial@newtimes.co.rw