Sri Lankan commonwealth Games medal winning weightlifters Chinthana Vidanage and Hansani Gomes will carry the Queen’s Baton when the Birmingham Commonwealth Games 2022 Queen’s Baton Relay(QBR) arrives in Sri Lanka; the 25th destination out of the 72 Commonwealth nations and territories that it will be visiting.
A busy schedule of activities and events are planned for the Queen’s Baton Relay, with opportunities to showcase untold stories from Baton bearers, athletes, and young people who are striving for change in their community. During it’s time in Sri Lanka the Queen’s Baton Relay will visit Colombo, Kandy and travel up to Hatton. The Queen’s Baton will arrive here having previously visited The Maldives.
“On January 3, 2022, President of CGA Sri Lanka – Suresh Subramaniam and other dignitaries from the Ministry of Sports and British High Commission will officially welcome the Baton at the Bandaranaike International Airport.”
The President of CGA Sri Lanka – Suresh Subramaniam said: “I am delighted that Sri Lanka is a part of this extraordinary journey. It’s a way to highlight and promote the beauty of Sri Lanka to people across the Commonwealth countries.” CGA Sri Lanka’s Secretary General Maxwell de Silva said: “We are looking forward to celebrating the arrival of the Birmingham 2022 Queen’s Baton Relay in our community and are well on track with our planning for the occasion”.
On January 4, the Baton will move to the hill country and start the festivities with a reception at the Victoria Dam constructed in 1978 funded by the United Kingdom under the patronage of Queen Elizabeth II. The next phase of the festivity will be at the Ranabima Royal College, Kandy where the British Council will be conducting an Education programme under the auspices of CGA Sri Lanka. On January 5, the Baton will travel to Hatton to visit a tea estate before traveling down to Colombo in its last leg of festivities.
During the QBR journey in Sri Lanka, the Baton is likely to have a programme at the Ceylon Tea Museum in Hanthana, Ceylon School for the deaf and blind in Ratmalana, Temple Trees and then move to Colombo with some sports activity in collaboration with the Ministry of Youth and Sports. (D.R)