Commonwealth Sport Celebrates World Oceans Day
On World Oceans Day on 8 June, Commonwealth Sport celebrates the successful start to the King’s Baton Relay, with more than 167,500 pieces of plastic collected to date from Commonwealth oceans and waterways during a series of plastic clean-up events across the Caribbean, the first region the Relay has visited on the journey to the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games.
- Commonwealth Sport King’s Baton Relay activities across the Caribbean have so far removed more than 167,500 pieces of plastic from waterways and oceans
- In the first 90 days of the King’s Baton Relay, more than 1,500 volunteers spent 23.5 hours collecting plastic across Caribbean nations and territories
- The King’s Baton Relay is off to an impressive start on the journey to remove 1 million pieces of plastic ahead of the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games
- The King’s Baton Relay has become a vehicle for change across the Commonwealth in partnership with the Royal Commonwealth Society, driving action to tackle ocean plastics
- The King’s Baton Relay for Glasgow 2026 demonstrates how sport, education and environmental action can unite to create lasting change
The King’s Baton Relay, which was launched by His Majesty King Charles III on 10 March 2025 at Buckingham Palace, has spent the past three months touring the Caribbean, celebrating sport, culture and sustainability. In partnership with the Royal Commonwealth Society’s Commonwealth Clean Oceans Plastics Campaign, the King’s Baton Relay is bringing together athletes, environmental groups and communities across the Commonwealth to prevent 1 million pieces of plastic from entering waterways and oceans using education and inspiration to spark lasting change, bringing much needed attention to both ongoing ocean conservation efforts and highlighting innovative solutions to plastic waste.
Some Caribbean highlights included Barbados, where a team of divers removed waste from the ocean floor alongside the community beach clean-up; the British Virgin Islands, where a commemorative King’s Baton Relay bench, made of upcycled plastics, was installed in Queen Elizabeth II Park; and Antigua and Barbuda, where a waste expo educated the local communities, promoting sustainability and showcasing how education and action can go hand in hand to create lasting change.
With a plastic clean up in every nation and territory in the Caribbean, so far more than 1,500 people have taken part in 23.5 hours of plastic clean-up activities to collect 167,500 pieces of plastic, 16.5% of the target amount of 1 million pieces for the entire King’s Baton Relay, putting the project on track to exceed the target.
Commonwealth Sport CEO Katie Sadleir said, “The King’s Baton Relay connects the people of the Commonwealth in a unique and meaningful way, and as it journeys through the nations and territories, particularly our coastal communities, we are reminded of our shared responsibility to protect our oceans. The work we have seen in the Caribbean has shown what can be achieved when sport, education and environmental action come together to create lasting environmental change. We look forward to continuing this crucial journey, alongside the Royal Commonwealth Society and our Commonwealth Games Associations to protect our oceans for future generations.”
Phil Batty OBE, Chief Executive of Glasgow 2026 said “At the heart of our vision for Glasgow 2026 is a commitment to energising communities—not just here in Glasgow and Scotland, but across the Commonwealth. As the King’s Baton Relay has journeyed through the Caribbean, we’ve witnessed an outpouring of positivity that highlights the true power of sport to inspire sustainable and meaningful change. In particular, the Baton’s focus on ocean education and plastic clean-up has sparked vital conversations and action around environmental responsibility. We’re excited to follow the Relay’s continued success as it travels onward and we look forward to welcoming it back to Scotland next year—when the world will gather once again to celebrate an altogether brilliant Commonwealth Games.”
Royal Commonwealth Society Public Affairs and Programmes Officer, William Bolton said, “Our partnership with Commonwealth Sport has significantly amplified the impact of the Commonwealth Clean Oceans Plastics Campaign, helping to remove more harmful plastic from our shared waters and uniting conservationists from across the Commonwealth. The extraordinary levels of youth and community engagement across the 15 countries and territories involved so far demonstrate the deep commitment to tackling plastic pollution within the Commonwealth. The Caribbean has been a strong start to the campaign, and as we move forward to Africa, I have every confidence we will reach our ambitious goal of preventing one million pieces of plastic from entering Commonwealth waters.”
Across the Caribbean, King’s Baton Relay activities have mobilised thousands of supporters, from schoolchildren and sports clubs to local governments and marine organisations. Plastic clean-up events, educational workshops and innovative challenges have empowered local communities to take ownership of the health of their waterways and oceans and their coastal ecosystems.
The King’s Baton Relay for Glasgow 2026 is a reimagined Relay for a new era. For the first time ever, each of the 74 Commonwealth nations and territories have received their own Baton to decorate to showcase their cultural wealth. Each of the Batons from across the Caribbean has been designed by local artists, schoolchildren or athletes and feature natural and built landscapes, endangered animals, cultural icons and sporting heroes, creating a beautiful artefact that celebrates each nation and territory in a unique way.
The Caribbean has been the first Commonwealth Region destination for the Relay, with Trinidad and Tobago kickstarting the Baton celebrations on Tuesday 11 March. The Caribbean part of the Baton Relay will finish in St Vincent and The Grenadines on Saturday 14 June, before the Relay moves to Africa (15 June to 18 October), then Asia (25 October to 21 December), Oceania (3 January to 27 March 2026), Americas (28 March to 7 May 2026), and Europe (8 May to 23 July 2026).
The King’s Baton Relay will be brought to a close at the Opening Ceremony of Glasgow 2026 on 23 July 2026. As part of the reimagined Relay, all 74 batons will be reunited, each engraved with a word from His Majesty's call to the athletes of the Commonwealth to come together in friendly competition, to be read aloud by The King to mark the official start of the Commonwealth Games.
The King’s Baton Relay is supported by Longines.
