Karachi, Pakistan, December 27, 2021: Karachi is all set to host the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games Queen’s Baton Relay on Monday, December 27 with a number of legendary Pakistani athletes including squash great Jahangir Khan and Olympic javelin thrower Arshad Nadeem set to participate in ceremonies.
The Baton, which has arrived in Karachi, will be handed over on Monday afternoon by the British Deputy High Commissioner, Martin Dawson, to the President of the Pakistan Olympic Association and head of the Commonwealth Games Association of Pakistan, Lt. Gen (retd.) Syed Arif Hasan.
“It’s a very important event for the soft image of Pakistan and Karachi,” Lt. Gen Hasan told a news conference on Sunday. “Its basic purpose is to create harmony and friendship among the Commonwealth nations through sports.”
The Baton relay will be held on Tuesday and Wednesday in Karachi before leaving the same day for the Maldives where it will spend New Year’s Day.
The Asian swing will then continue through Sri Lanka (January 4-5), Bangladesh (January 7-9) and India (January 12-15) before the Baton moves to Southeast Asia visiting Singapore, Malaysia and Brunei in January.
In Sri Lanka, the Baton will visit the tea plantations of Kandy and Hatton.
The Birmingham 2022 Queen’s Baton Relay will visit all 72 nations and territories of the Commonwealth with the international route spanning an impressive 269 days spending between two to four days in each stop. The Relay will cover approximately 140,000 kilometres, with over 7,500 Batonbearers taking part.
The Baton, which flew out of Birmingham Airport on October 8, will conclude its global journey at the Birmingham 2022 Opening Ceremony on July 28 where the final Baton-bearer will return the Baton to Her Majesty The Queen.
