The Queen's Baton will arrive in Bermuda from Belize this weekend as part of a 71-country relay building up to the Commonwealth Games in India later this year.

Similar to the Olympic Torch Relay, the Queen's Baton Relay started at Buckingham Palace, England, back in October with Queen Elizabeth handing the baton to the President of India, Pratibha Devisingh Patiland.

A detailed programme of events has been planned by the Bermuda Olympic Association (BOA) to celebrate the Baton's arrival on the Island.

The Queen's representative in Bermuda will officially receive the Baton at 9 a.m. on Monday at Government House from former BOA president John Hoskins, the regional vice-president of the Commonwealth Games Federation.

It will then be taken to the West End where students from several local schools will gather at Sandys Middle School to learn about the Commonwealth Games and hear from Bermuda athletes who have competed in the Games in the past.

Following those presentations, the Baton will be taken through the western parishes en-route to Hamilton, and primary students at several schools will have the opportunity to view it.

There will be a photo stop at the National Sports Centre with local athletes, followed by a bicycle relay along Front Street to Par-La-Ville Park, where the Baton will be received by Gombey dancers who will then present it to Charles Gosling, the Mayor of Hamilton.

On Tuesday morning Premier Dr. Ewart Brown, who competed in the 400-yard dash at the 1966 Commonwealth Games, will officially hand the Baton back to John Hoskins in advance of its journey to Canada.

Leading up to the Commonwealth Games in Delhi, the Baton will visit all nations of the Commonwealth, covering 190,000 kilometres over 340 days, the last 100 days of which will be a national tour of India.

Judy Simons, president of the BOA said: "We are honoured to, once again, receive the Queen's Baton in Bermuda.

"We hope that its presence here will generate interest and excitement about the upcoming Commonwealth Games in India.

"This year, we expect to have a team of 30 athletes representing Bermuda at the Games, competing in a number of different sports that include athletics, swimming, tennis and boxing. The BOA is pleased to have been able to assist those fine young people on their journeys to success."

Bermuda first competed in the Commonwealth Games in 1930 at Hamilton, Canada.

The country's first medal came in Kingston in 1966 with a silver medal for John Morbey in the men's long jump.

The 1990 Games in Auckland produced the first gold for Bermuda when Clarence Saunders won the high jump with a Games record.