Queensland Conservatorium alumnus Dami Imwill be one of the Batonbearers for the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games (GC2018) Queen’s Baton Relay (QBR) in her hometown of Daisy Hill on April 1.

“To be part of the Queen’s Baton Relay celebration is extra special for me after being part of the GC2018 Charity Gala last year,” she said.

“I am thrilled to be involved in the Queen’s Baton Relay not once — but twice! I got the chance to perform at the shared celebration in Sydney, and will now carry the Queen’s Baton in my hometown.

“The Games are shaping up to be incredible and I can’t wait to be involved again.”

The Masters of Music Studies graduate shot to stardom after winning The X Factor in 2013 and represented Australia in the 2016 Eurovision Song Contest.

Dami joins a host of QBR Batonbearers from Griffith University including:

  • Professor Emeritus Alan Mackay-Sim, 2017 Australian of the Year and world-leading spinal cord injury researcher
  • Professor Emeritus Colin Mackerras AO, foundation professor at Griffith’s School of Modern Asian Studies in 1974
  • Professor Mark von Itzstein, Director of Griffith’s Institute for Glycomics and a world-leading scientist in the fight against diseases like childhood leukaemia, melanoma and malaria
  • Professor Claire Rickard, Professor of Nursing, Menzies Health Institute Queensland and Fellow of the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences
  • Associate Professor Brydie-Leigh Bartleet, Director of the Queensland Conservatorium Research Centre and a former Australian University Teacher of the Year
  • Krystal Lockwood, PhD researcher, Griffith Criminology Institute and Charlie Perkins Scholarship recipient
  • Michael Baker, Bachelor of Dentistry and Oral Health graduate and Graduate Diploma of Dentistry graduate
  • Bianca Archer, Bachelor of Architectural Design student and Abedian Foundation Griffith Futures Scholarship recipient.

Queensland College of Art lecturer Dr Tim Mosely was commissioned to make the special spinifex paper on which Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II wrote Her message, contained in a special compartment on the side of the Queen’s Baton.

At the Opening Ceremony on 4 April, Her Majesty’s representative will remove the message from the Queen’s Baton in front of the athletes, spectators and a global TV audience of 1.5 billion, and read it aloud to officially open the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games.

The paper is the first significant creative research product from the QCA’s new hand paper-making mill.

Since starting its journey on Commonwealth Day, 13 March 2017, at Buckingham Palace, the Queen’s Baton has shared the dream of GC2018 with over one third of the world’s population, travelling more than 230,000 kilometres.

The Queen’s Baton is travelling through every state and territory in Australia over 100 days, covering 40,000km. Approximately 3,800 batonbearers will carry the Queen’s Baton on this part of the journey. On average, each batonbearer will carry the Queen’s Baton for approximately 200 metres.

See the full QBR schedule and batonbearer positioning at gc2018.com/qbr.