A spectacular show of community support in Cleveland this morning kicked off day 96 of the Queen’s Baton Relay (QBR) as thousands came out to follow on the footpath from the Lighthouse down to Raby Bay Harbour Park.

More cheers followed in Holland Park as batonbearers took the Queen’s Baton along Logan Road towards the city.

Getting ready for her turn with the Queen’s Baton while overlooking the city on the Kangaroo Point Cliffs, three-time Commonwealth Games gold medallist (Swimming) Bronte Barratt picked up on the excitement of the day.

“I'm actually feeling pretty nervous, but I am really proud to be here today and I can't wait to get on the road.

“I'm a Brisbane girl through and through, I grew up here. It means a lot to me to be representing Brisbane and my family, who are all here today, particularly because my Granny ran with the [Olympic] Torch in 2000 so it has an extra level of meaning for me.”

Capping off two great days in Brisbane was Jeff Horn, WBO World Welterweight champion and London 2012 Olympian, who brought the Queen’s Baton into the QBR Major Celebration Event in South Bank Parklands headlined by Josh Pyke.

“It means the world to me to do this, to hold the Queen’s Baton in South Bank, so close to where I fought Manny Pacquiao and had a great victory.

“I think Brisbane will really take on board [the Games]. People will be getting excited to see the cycling and the shooting.”

Earlier in the day, the Queen’s Baton also dropped into the Anna Meares Velodrome and Belmont Shooting Centre to inspire Aussie athletes in training.

Over one million tickets have already been sold for GC2018 but there are tickets still available across a wide variety of GC2018 sports including Athletics, Squash, Badminton, Hockey, Lawn Bowls, Boxing and the Basketball preliminaries in Townsville and Cairns.

Tomorrow the Queen’s Baton visits Logan before finally arriving on the Gold Coast after an extraordinary 385 days so far around the Commonwealth.

See Cleveland image gallery

See Brisbane image gallery