The pulsating beat of the Cook Islands pate and pau will welcome the Queens Baton to Rarotonga on Thursday December 5 as it journey across 70 Commonwealth nations as part of the build up to the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland.
The baton carries a message from Queens Elizabeth II and began its global relay on October 9 from Buckingham Palace and on July 23 next year – the message will be ready out aloud at the opening ceremony of the games.
Delivered by a Commonwealth Games Federation representative – the baton will be received first by Minister of Sport Mark Brown at the Rarotonga International Airport at 12.30am Thursday and its early arrival means a short welcome ceremony at the airport.
On Friday – the baton relay will begin on Rarotonga after it is delivered to the Queens Representative’s residence in Titikaveka for a short ceremony.
The relay itself will begin at 9.45am from the Takitumu and Puaikura boundary and will be carried through many hands towards Arorangi.
In Vaka Puaikura the baton will make a top at the Au Maru palace grounds of Tinomana Tokerau Ariki before it is handed over by the people of Puaikura to representatives of Vaka Te Au O Tonga.
The baton will detour to the back road in Nikao where it will be carried to the Cook Islands Sports and National Olympic Committee headquarters, through to the Telecom Sports Arena and Tereora College before continuing along the back road and head to the main road via the Avatiu intersection.
The baton relay will continue along the main road in Avarua and detour around Papehia’s memorial rock in Takuvaine before heading to the Takamoa Theological Centre, pass the cultural centre in Tupapa and will end its first leg of the relay at the Te Au O Tonga and Takitumu boundary.
Friday will see the second leg of the relay begin at the Takitumu boundary where the baton will be carried through the vaka with each village set to have their own baton programme.
The Vaka Takitumu relay programme is set to start at 7.30am on Friday and run up till 10.30am where it will be returned to Nikao, outer island representatives will carry it along the main road in Nikao and at 2.30pm – the baton relay will end at the Punanga Nui Market where it will then begin another journey to major sponsors.
Day three of the relay will see the baton taken to the Punanga Nui Markets on Saturday before taking a lagoon cruise in Muri.
The baton is due to depart Rarotonga early Sunday morning.
Last Modified on 10/12/2013 06:45