Lewis, 16th July 2026
The King’s Baton Relay has completed its journey to the Outer Hebrides by road, sea and air ahead of taking centre stage for the opening of HebCelt Festival’s main arena.
The specially commissioned baton for the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow was waved onto CalMac’s MV Loch Seaforth ferry at Ullapool by mountain bike champion Kerry MacPhee from South Uist, before setting sail across The Minch.
Midway across the vessel was met by the Stornoway Coastguard Search and Rescue team who piloted their distinctive Sikorsky helicopter SAR948 overhead above excited passengers and music fans heading to the island.
From there rescue crew descended onto the deck to collect the precious cargo and reunite it with ex special forces security guard Phil Davies waiting in the chopper, before landing at Stornoway Airport a short time later.
The baton will make a brief appearance at the town’s Perceval Square with BBC Radio nan Gàidheal around lunchtime.
It will later be taken to Stornoway Golf Club where Traitors winner Stephen Libby and Commonwealth Games swimmer Kara Hanlon will take possession.
Both baton bearers will later lead the procession with Lewis Pipe band under the direction of Pipe Major Sandy Gomez, and Lewis and Harris Youth Pipe band under Pipe Major Ashleigh MacDonald, up the castle drive around 4.45pm. They will then be greeted by a special Guard of Honour provided by shinty stalwarts Lewis Camanachd and team captain Scott MacLeod, before officially opening this year’s gates.
Between 6pm and 9pm the Baton, flanked by security, will go on display in the main arena giving festival goers a unique chance to see it up close, take photographs, and celebrate its visit to the island. As part of the evening’s celebrations, the baton will appear on the Main Stage for Mànran’s headline set, and chance for a unique crowd ‘selfie’ to send the symbol on its way to the Glasgow Commonwealth Games in style.
HebCelt CoOrdinator Carol Ferguson, who first applied for the baton to come to the festival, was delighted to see the handover happen.
She said: “This is a huge deal for HebCelt and the town in general, but the best thing for me is to be able to involve the coastguard, search and rescue teams, and CalMac crew in something this special too.
“They look after our community all year round so it seemed apt that they got to look after the Baton for a time too. It was brilliant to add a little bit of excitement for the passengers aboard, and it’s really created a huge buzz already. The weather has been amazing again today, and we just can’t wait for the party to start.”
Kara, a Scottish record holder in the 50 and 100m breaststroke, represented Team Scotland at the Commonwealth Games and Great Britain at European and world championships, and is the most successful swimmer to come from the Western Isles.
More than 9.6m people tuned in to The Traitors finale for its dramatic closing moments when Stephen, a former competitive gymnast, won the series by keeping his promise to fellow Traitor Rachel Duffy, splitting the £95,750 prize pot.
The Baton Relay Team is travelling across more than 50 events to celebrate Team Scotland, Scottish sport, the Commonwealth, and Scottish culture before the Glasgow games start on 23 July.
Tickets are available at hebceltfest.com or in person at the festival shop.
