Queen's Baton Relay: Join the journey

The Queen's Baton Relay is a unique tour of the Commonwealth and has happened in some form since the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games.

The tradition is for the Head of the Commonwealth, currently Queen Elizabeth ll, to write a message that is carried within a baton until it is finally read aloud to officially open the 2014 Games in Glasgow.

During the next nine months the baton will travel around the globe to the 70 nations and territories of the Commonwealth.

Read the guide to the Queen's Baton Relay to find out more about the journey.

This blog will share the culture, history and experiences as we join the baton on this adventure.

Adventurer Mark Beaumont will blog from the journey as he meets some of the Commonwealth's two billion citizens.

Who is Mark Beaumont?

Mark Beaumont

Mark Beaumont will present the BBC's coverage of the Queen's Baton Relay. He is a broadcaster, adventurer and author from Perthshire. Since he cycled from John o'Groats to Land's End at the age of 12, Mark has had the bug to travel the world.

Mark became a household name in 2008 when he circumnavigated the earth on his bike. His 194 day cycle of 18,296 miles became a world record at the time and a Bafta-nominated documentary about his journey was broadcast on BBC Scotland.

Since then, Mark has featured in Cycling the Americas and Rowing the Arctic.

You can keep up-to-date with Mark's journey around the Commonwealth on the Queen's Baton Relay on this blog, on Twitter @BBCMarkBeaumont and on our Facebook page.

Route

The Queen will set the baton on its way at Buckingham Palace on the 9 October 2013, then heading to New Delhi, host of the 2010 Commonwealth Games.

The route includes some of the larger Commonwealth countries such as Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nigeria, South Africa, Malaysia, Australia, Kenya, Ghana, Jamaica and Canada.

The baton will spend Christmas in the small South Pacific Island, Vanuatu.

Twitter

Twitter and Facebook will feature the latest information from the relay with regular updates from each event.

The official Queen's Baton Relay twitter feed is @BBCMarkBeaumont.

The blog and the social networks will keep you in the picture daily throughout the 118,000 mile relay.

Programming

The online element complements a range of BBC programming which includes a monthly documentary and weekly news features.

The Queen's Baton Relay will appear on The One Show, BBC Breakfast and CBBC - in addition to regional and world news outlets.

BBC Radio 2 and BBC Radio Scotland will also follow this epic journey.