Over the weekend, Cayman completed the 12th stop in the Caribbean leg of the King’s Baton Relay for the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games.
The local baton relay was held 31 May, beginning at Government House, where Premier André Ebanks handed Cayman’s baton to Governor Jane Owen on the beach behind her residence.
This year, the traditional relay format was changed.
Instead of the usual single baton containing a hidden message from King Charles III that travels across the Commonwealth, each of the 74 nations and territories received their own baton to decorate, adding their own culturally expressive flair.
Each baton will also have a single word from the king’s message engraved into it, spreading the message across the Commonwealth until all batons are reunited at the opening ceremony.
The Cayman Islands Olympic Committee, in collaboration with the National Gallery of the Cayman Islands, selected artist Gordon Solomon’s design for Cayman’s baton. The themes that guided his design for the three-sided baton were glory, the Cayman Islands, and Commonwealth sports.
Owen, who was accompanied by members of the Cayman Islands Regiment, passed the baton from the premier to Connor Macdonald, a swimmer with the Camana Bay Aquatic Club, who then made his way by jet-ski to Public Beach, where fellow swimmer Riley Watson was waiting, as part of the relay across the island.
Macdonald, the first Cayman athlete to hand off the baton during the event, told the Compass, “It was a great honour to be a part of the King’s Baton Relay and to represent swimming for the Cayman Islands.”
He added, “I want to thank [the] Cayman Islands Olympic Committee for allowing me to take part in this relay on our beautiful Seven Mile Beach.”
Known as the Queen’s Baton Relay before the passing of Queen Elizabeth II in 2022, the relay has made its quadrennial return under King Charles III.
At the 23rd edition of the games, set for 23 July-2 Aug. 2026, thousands of athletes will compete under their country’s flag across 16 sports.
The official countdown to the games kicked off on Commonwealth Day, 10 March 2025, when King Charles placed his personal message to the Commonwealth into the first baton, the Scotland Baton, at Buckingham Palace.
At the opening ceremony of the 2026 games, the sealed and hidden message will be retrieved from the baton and read by the king, officially declaring the opening of the games.
