Commonwealth Games baton returns to British Isles

The Queen puts her message in the baton, watched by Games Federation president Prince Imran Tunku, of Malaysia

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The Commonwealth Games baton is to return to the British Isles later.

The baton contains a message from the Queen which is due to be revealed at the opening ceremony of the 2014 Games in Glasgow on Wednesday 23 July.

Over the past seven months it has travelled to 63 Commonwealth nations and territories.

It starts its tour of the British Isles in St Aubin's Bay, Jersey, carried ashore by Olympic and Commonwealth medallist Tom Daley.

The diver from Plymouth will be joined by Zane Duquemin, 23, a shot-putter from Jersey who is the current British indoor champion.

The pair will carry the Queen's Baton into St Aubin's Bay at 17:45 BST, where hundreds of young athletes are set to welcome them in a public ceremony, before a two-day relay around the island.

Duquemin and Daley are due to be met by hundreds of young athletes

By the end of the relay, which has been the curtain raiser for the Commonwealth Games since 1958, the baton will have travelled more than 118,000 miles (190,000km) in a journey that will have taken 288 days.

Alan Cross, head of the Commonwealth Games Association of Jersey, said: "It is good for the island, it puts us on the map and we are always keen to do that.

"It is also good for the sporting community on the island and our games association.

"It provides an excellent motivation to move towards the games, especially for the youngsters with Tom Daley coming over. He is an inspirational character."

Alan Donald, from Ports of Jersey, has been involved in the organisation of the baton's arrival, which he described as "very exciting, but logistically complex".

"It's a great community event and importantly showcases the skills and talents of our local sportsmen and women," he said.

On Tuesday the baton will travel by boat to Guernsey and will be taken on a tour of schools the following day.

It will be taken to the other main Channel Islands of Alderney, Sark and Herm on Thursday.

It then travels to the Isle of Man and onto Northern Ireland, Wales and England before ending its journey with a 40-day tour of Scotland.