Thousands of School Children watched as Minister Receives Queen’s Baton

Georgetown: Minister of Education, Priya Manickchand today received the Queen’s Baton as it journeys through Guyana on its way to Glasgow, Scotland for the official opening of the Commonwealth Games. Thousands of schoolchildren assembled on Brickdam as the Queen’s Baton was handed-over by a student of the Brickdam Secondary School to the Honorable Minister. The symbolic passing of the baton was done at the corner of Brickdam and United Nations Place. Minister Manickchand then carried the baton to the corner of Brickdam and Austin’s Place where she handed over the baton to pupils of the Smith’s Memorial Primary School. The international baton relay aims to demonstrate the unity and diversity of the Commonwealth of Nations. The relay is in preparation for the four-yearly festival of sport and culture. The Queen’s Baton Relay was launched at Buckingham Palace on October 9 2013, when Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, who is Head of the Commonwealth, placed her message to the Commonwealth into the baton. The baton is expected to travel more than 118,000 miles visiting about 70 commonwealth countries across the world. Each nation or territory will host the baton for about one to four days.