Its arrival in Victoria Square is set to be accompanied by a tumult of music and dance with Irish pipes and drums, a samba band, dhol drummers and a West African band, followed by performances from Birmingham born rapper Sanity and Bollywood dancers.

The following day, the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games Opening Ceremony is scheduled to begin at the Alexander Stadium.

It seemed like the perfect time to recall how the Baton arrived in the past.

On a sunny morning in Gold Coast four years ago, a flotilla of lifeboats sped in across the surf.

Lifesaver Trevor Hendy and his son "TJ" carried the Baton through crowds on the sands at Surfers Paradise to pass it to the local superstar, Olympic and Commonwealth Games hurdles champion Sally Pearson.

Later that evening, a campervan drove into the Carrara Stadium.

Its doors opened to reveal Australia's most-successful Commonwealth Games swimmer Susie O'Neill with the Baton.

There followed a succession of Australian champions, including cyclist Brad McGee, Para athlete Kurt Fearnley, netballer Liz Ellis and hockey player Brent Livermore.

Then, it was over to Pearson to carry the Baton for the second time in little more than 12 hours, as she approached the dais for Prince Charles to read the Queen's Message.

Even as she ran, Pearson knew that her dream of competing at a hometown Games was over because of injury.

"I went out there last night in the Opening Ceremony and heard the roar for Australia and not being able to feel that for myself in my individual events is very disappointing," Pearson said the following day.

There are set to be more gold medals for women than men at Birmingham 2022, so it wouldn’t be too surprising if a woman was again chosen as the final Bearer.

It was at the 1974 Games in Christchurch, New Zealand that a woman was first chosen as the last runner, and when her name was announced, it nearly brought the house down.

"A fanfare is sounded, and an announcement is made naming the runner with the Baton, Sylvia Potts. She enters the stadium carrying the Queen's Message in the Baton and circles the track before delivering it to His Royal Highness, The Duke Of Edinburgh," the official protocol notes stated.

Many remembered the misfortune which had befallen Potts four years previously at Edinburgh 1970, when the women's 1500 metres reached its climax.

As she came down the home straight, Potts seemed in sight of victory when she suddenly stumbled and fell within centimetres of the line and missed out on a medal altogether.

Ever since the Baton Relay was introduced at the 1958 Cardiff Games, the final runner had always been chosen from the sport of athletics.

All that changed when the Games returned to New Zealand in 1990.

Darkness had already fallen by the time double Olympic eventing gold medallist Sir Mark Todd arrived at the Mount Smart Stadium in Auckland, carrying the Baton on his famous horse Charisma.

Todd passed it on to Sir Peter Snell, a triple Olympic gold medallist in athletics, and a man who had won both 880 yards and the mile at the 1962 Commonwealth Games.

Snell ran to the Royal Box where Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) chairman Sir Peter Heatly adroitly extracted the message before it was read by CGF President Prince Edward to signal the start of the highly successful Games.

At Victoria, British Columbia in 1994, the Canadians selected double Olympic biathlon gold medallist Myriam Bedard as their final Baton Bearer.

She entered the stadium on roller skis.

The Queen herself was present to open the Games for only the second time. 

The only previous occasion had been at the 1978 Games, also held in Canada, when pentathlete Diane Jones-Konihowski had been the final Bearer.

The Opening Ceremony for Kuala Lumpur 1998 had already begun when the big screen showed images of the Relay departing from the city centre.

Baton Bearers sat in a howdah on the back of an elephant called Mahota for a stately progress through the streets.

At the stadium, badminton gold medallist Sylvia Ng was followed by 77-year-old Koh En Tong, Malaysia's bantamweight weightlifting gold medallist from 1950 and 12-year-old gymnast Nurul Fatiha to deliver the message, this time to be read again by Prince Edward.

By this time, Ceremonies were becoming ever more complex.

For the Melbourne Games in 2006, Australian Rules star Ron Barassi brought the Baton to the stadium perimeter where Olympic Commonwealth Games gold medallist Herb Elliott greeted him.

The backdrop offered more than a passing resemblance to the stage at the Opening Ceremony of the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games.

Inside the Melbourne Cricket ground, there was another reminder of Sydney.

Cathy Freeman emerged with the Baton and was joined by fellow Australian athletes Marjorie Jackson-Nelson and Ron Clarke.

The final honour went to  John Landy, forever known for his epic duel in the mile at the 1954 Games with England’s Roger Bannister.

Instead of opening it, Landy pointed the Baton at an autocue screen on which the words were electronically displayed for the Queen to read.

At the New Delhi 2010 Games, it was the turn of great Indian champions to take centre stage with the Baton.

Boxers Vijender Singh and Mary Kom were followed by pistol shooter Samaresh Jung, winner of five gold medals at Melbourne 2006.

Before wrestler Sushil Kumar was finally able to deliver it for Prince Charles to read the message, he was surrounded by other members of the home team who wanted a close-up photo.

Scotland's most-successful sportsman Sir Chris Hoy had carried the Baton to Buckingham Palace for the start of the Relay to Glasgow 2014.

There were those who believed that he would not therefore be chosen for the final honour.

In fact it emerged that the organisers had executed a perfect double bluff, for on the night of the Opening Ceremony at Celtic Park, Sir Chris was greeted by his great uncle Andy Coogan, then 97 years old. 

Hoy took the Baton to the Royal Box, but then the proceedings began to go slightly awry.

The difficulties experienced by Hoy and CGF President Tunku Imran in prising it open have entered Games folklore.

It took some minutes before the Queen was finally able to read her address, but she did seem to be amused by the whole episode.

The arrival of the Baton in the stadium next Thursday remains shrouded in secrecy, but seems certain to be an elaborate affair if previous Games are a guide.

At the last Games held in England in 2002, a balloon descended over the City of Manchester Stadium.

Below it aerialist Lindsey Butcher was suspended from a trapeze to deliver the Baton.

The group which carried the Baton in the stadium that night included swimmer Susie O'Neill, yachtswoman Ellen Macarthur, runner Moses Kiptanui, rower Sir Steve Redgrave and sprinter Donovan Bailey before David Beckham emerged from the shadows to accompany seven year old Kirsty Howard as they presented it to the Queen in her Golden Jubilee year.

On that night 20 years ago, the first athlete to handle the Baton had been Olympic and Commonwealth heptathlon champion Denise Lewis, born in West Bromwich, only a few kilometres from Birmingham.

Now Commonwealth Games England President and a familiar figure on television, Lewis remains popular, especially in the West Midlands.

Earlier in the month, she welcomed the Baton at the Eden Project in Cornwall, but seems certain to have a part to play on Thursday.

Prince Charles has been chosen to represent the Queen at the Opening Ceremony in Birmingham next week.