Commonwealth Games baton arrives in Belize…

It was busy busy at the airport this afternoon as two distinct but important groups of visitors landed in Belize, while a number of excited Belizean youths prepared to take off on their first trip to Europe. First to arrive in the V.I.P. lounge of the Philip Goldson International Airport was the official delegation of the Queen’s Baton Relay. The international relay is one of the many activities leading up to the twenty-eighth Commonwealth Games, scheduled for Melbourne, Australia, next March. Before arriving in Ladyville, the baton visited several countries in Europe and other parts of the Caribbean. And as Australian torch bearer Shannon Stacey explains, this ain’t no ordinary stick.

Shannon Stacey, Queen’s Baton Relay Ambassador
?It’s referred to as the “Smart Baton” because it has so much technology inside it. It has the Queen’s message for the first time is stored in an electronic chip at the top there. It has two cameras, one at the front and one at the rear. The front is made of magnesium aluminium alloy which is known as the metal of the future and used in a lot of the latest technologies. The back is twenty-four karat gold plated, which represents Victoria’s history in the gold rush, and the green represents Melbourne’s famous parks and gardens. And the shape is designed in an athlete crossing the finishing line with their chest pushed forward. It’s also fitted out with a Global Positioning System so we can track its whereabouts, and it has seventy-one lights representing all seventy-one nations.”

To track the baton’s travels electronically, you can visit the website www.melbourne2006.com.au