Team Commonwealth, Team Turks and Caicos

Today we celebrate being a part of one of the world’s largest group of countries as we mark Commonwealth Day with a public holiday.

From Canada to the Cook Islands, and from St Kitt’s to the world’s largest democracy, India, the Commonwealth embraces an extraordinary range of countries, including the Turks and Caicos, covering a third of the world’s population.

This year is also a special one for the organization as over 70 countries and territories take part this July  in the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.

In preparation for this, the TCI will welcome the Queen’s Baton Relay to the islands in April, which will cover some 190,000 km before arriving in Glasgow.

There will be an opportunity for children across the TCI to run with the Baton, which started its journey earlier this year at Buckingham Palace before travelling through India, Australia, the South Pacific and many other countries and territories.

As Her Majesty Herself said, “Experiences of life differ widely throughout the Commonwealth, and we each make contributions from sometimes very different viewpoints. But we are committed to the same goals. Together we offer each other encouragement and draw strength from this mutual support.”

So, I look forward to meeting our athletes before they depart for Scotland to represent Turks and Caicos in one of the world’s largest sporting events. They will compete on the track, in the weightlifting arena and the shooting range.

Together the UK and the Turks and Caicos Islands are part of #TeamCommonwealth.

Read watch or listen to Her Majesty the Queen’s Commonwealth Day message in full here.