PRESIDENT John Magufuli will receive the Queens Baton in Dar es Salaam on April 10, Tanzania Olympic Committee (TOC) confirmed yesterday.

The committees Secretary General, Filbert Bayi (pictured) said yesterday that the baton is scheduled to arrive in the country on April 8 for a three-day tour.

According to Bayi, the Queens baton relay in Dar es Salaam will officially start on April 9 covering various areas of Dar es Salaam, notably Mwalimu Nyerere bridge, the longest bridge in the country and the UDART Gerezani Terminal, also one of the countrys notable attractions.

He added that on April 9 the Queens Baton relay will head to the National Stadium where dance music bands and t r a d i - tional mu- s i c ensem - bles w i l l jointly entertain. Among the megastars excepted to entertain there include African Stars Twanga Pepeta, Bongo Flava diva, Lady Jay Dee and Jitegemee Secondary School Choir.

On April 10, the Queens baton relay will head to the State House where President Magufuli will officially receive it. Bayi said the arrival of the Queens Baton will help promote the country and its various tourists attractions especially in Dar es Salaam and Arusha regions.

The Queens Baton first arrived in the country in 1998 and was received at the State House by the then President Benjamin William Mkapa. The baton is scheduled to arrive in the country from Nairobi after completing its Kenyan round.

The TOC Assistant Secretary, Suleiman Jabir has urged Dar es Salaam residents to come in number to participate in the relay. The Queens Baton Relay, similar to the Olympic Torch Relay, is a relay around the world held prior to the beginning of the Commonwealth Games.

The Baton carries a message from the Head of the Commonwealth, currently Queen Elizabeth II. The Relay traditionally begins at Buckingham Palace in London as a part of the citys Commonwealth Day festivities. The Queen entrusts the baton to the first relay runner. A

t the Opening Ceremony of the Games, the final relay runner hands the baton back to the Queen or her representative, who reads the message aloud to officially open the Games.

The baton normally carries a message to the athletes of the Commonwealth from Queen Elizabeth II, on a journey from Buckingham Palace to the Opening Ceremony of the Games, where the message is removed from the Baton and read out at the Opening Ceremony by the queen or a representative.

From 1958 through to and including the Victoria 1994 Commonwealth Games, the Baton only travelled through England and the host country of the Games. For the Kuala Lumpur 1998 Commonwealth Games the Baton travelled to countries other than England and the host.