FIJI’S KINGS BATON DESIGN AND MEANING

For the first time ever, each of the 74 Commonwealth nations and territories received their own baton to decorate as they chose. Crafted from sustainably sourced Scottish ash wood, Fiji's response features three sides of intricate artwork that together form a sweeping portrait of who this island nation is, where it comes from, and where it is going. The result is not simply decoration. It is a declaration.

Side One: The Pride of a Nation

The Fiji-themed side was conceived as an act of pride—pride in identity, culture, and an enduring spirit. At its heart are Fiji's most treasured endemic species: the Fiji Banded Iguana and the Tagimoucia flower, both increasingly endangered due to climate change. Alongside these sit cultural artefacts: the Kuro Qele, Saqamoli, and Tanoa. The Sand Dunes of Sigatoka stretch across the composition.

Waves move through the design as metaphor for challenges overcome—cyclones, pandemic—with the shark teeth symbolizing resilience. Footprints represent diverse ethnicities walking together, while the Sau carries the deepest meaning: God's blessings, abundance and peace. A rising sun reminds that each new day on earth begins in Fiji.

Side Two: The Ocean Connects All

This side speaks to the Commonwealth's shared responsibility toward the seas. Flowing resin in deep blues reflects "the eternal rhythm of the sea," embedded with real shells gathered from Fijian beaches carrying "the mana of our shores." Sand from Rotuma, Fiji's most remote outer island, anchors the baton, reminding that no community stands alone.

At the heart is the spirit of the Drua, the great double-hulled ocean-going vessel. "The drua symbolises courage, navigation and unity," the design explains, "a reminder that long before borders were drawn, the ocean was our pathway, not our divide." The baton becomes a symbolic waqa—a vessel carrying unity across nations, honouring the ocean as the source of life and the bridge that binds us together.

Side Three: Solesolevaki—The Art of Working Together

The Commonwealth Sport side celebrates solesolevaki, the Fijian concept of working together as a community. It is a living expression of vanua—identity rooted in land, sea and people. A dynamic ocean wave carries double-hulled sailing canoes, with a kasaqa soaring above as tribute to ancestral voyagers.

Endemic orchids and fragrant mokosoi flowers bloom across the design alongside Fiji's iconic barkcloth art, known as i-seru, bold geometric motifs form a ceremonial border at the baton's end. At the centre sits the tabua, a sacred whale's tooth—the ultimate symbol of honour and respect in Fijian culture. Its placement says everything about how Fiji regards this moment: with ceremony, with reverence and with the full weight of cultural tradition.

Together, the three sides form something greater than the sum of their parts: a meditation on who Fiji is—resilient, ocean-bound, communal, blessed—and a confident statement to the Commonwealth: Fiji is here. Fiji is proud.