Baton Decoration

We are seeking a designer who can create an inspiring and creative decoration for Scotland’s King’s Baton, as part of the Commonwealth Sport King’s Baton Relay for the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games.

For the first time ever, every Commonwealth nation and territory will receive their own Baton for their celebrations and have been asked to customise and decorate this Baton to represent their culture.

Scotland’s Baton will travel the country from 1^st July, driving excitement and anticipation for Glasgow 2026 in communities across the nation.

All 74 Batons will be reunited at the Opening Ceremony of Glasgow 2026, where the Scotland Baton will be presented to His Majesty and the message read aloud to declare the Games open.

Your Role

We are looking for a designer to design and decorate the three sides of the Scotland Baton.

We are open to all creative concepts and are not prescriptive over what should be included, though would expect submissions to be considerate of the themes of:

• Scotland and Scottish Sport
• The Commonwealth
• The word GATHER, which appears on the Baton.

Examples of decoration from other Commonwealth Nations can be found here: https://www.commonwealthsport.com/kings-baton-relay/baton

Project Budget

The winning designer will receive a £7,000 commission – please note material costs are inclusive of this.

Applicants selected for pitching stage will receive £500 for their research, development time and visualisation work.

Submission Requirements

Interested parties are invited to submit a proposal document detailing:

• A design CV detailing current awards, commissions, exhibitions and design achievements
• Portfolio of relevant previous work
• A maximum of 250 words describing your design approach, and a description of your initial decoration concept for the Scotland Baton
• A maximum of 250 words describing your motivation for winning this commission
• Declarations of interest – please detail any existing relationships with employees, contractors or member organisations of CGS (see Appendix 1 in support pack), including details of work carried out by your company on their behalf

Process and Timeline

Our process schedule is as follows:

• Completed submission should be returned to Team Scotland by midday on Thursday 12^th March
• All applicants will be notified of the outcome of their expression of interest by Friday 20^th March
• Successful applicants at this stage will receive:
  • Further guidance to support them in developing their design concept for the Scotland Baton.
  • An invitation to pitch their design response to a selected panel.
• The winning designer will be selected at the end of this process.
• The final, decorated baton should be delivered no later than Monday 1^st June.

Submission Details

The full support pack can be downloaded HERE

The completed submission should be sent to:

• KBR@teamscotland.scot or KBR, Commonwealth Games Scotland, Airthrey Castle, University of Stirling, Stirling, FK9 4LA

CGS may not consider any late submissions, or which does not meet any of the other requirements set out in this document.  

CGS is not bound to accept any submissions.