RELAY BATON AND DAY OF YOUTH

The first Tito's Relay Baton came from Kragujevac (present-day Republic of Serbia) in 1945; it was carried by local youths. Pioneers and youths presented the relay baton to Marshal Josip Broz Tito as homage for his birthday on May 25th.

At first, relay batons were brought by youths from various parts of Yugoslavia and were given to Josip Broz individually in Belgrade. In 1946, he received 11 relay batons, from the six republics and from Trieste, the Yugoslav Army, Istria, the relay baton from the builders of the Brcko - Banovici railroad and from the city of Belgrade.

In 1957, Tito's Relay was renamed into the Relay of Youth. And May 25th started to be celebrated as the Day of Youth, ending in a mass cultural and sports event in the Stadium of the Yugoslav People's Army in Belgrade. Instead of the relay batons of various republics, Tito was given only one relay baton - the Baton of Youth. That year the baton began its journey in Kumrovec (birth place of J.B. Tito). Separate sports and cultural events of Yugoslav youths, symbolizing brotherhood and unity of nations and nationalities of Yugoslavia, had already been underway for several days before the main ceremony.

Until 1987, each year a place was chosen according to a principle of rotation where the relay baton started its journey towards the former Yugoslav capital. Slovenians brought it from Triglav, Jesenice, Koper and Ravne na Koroskem. Our most famous bearers were the world-class athlete Miroslav Cerar, ski jumpers Janez Polda and Ludvik Zajc...

Until 1979, the relay baton was presented to Tito; after his death, to the president of the League of Socialist Youth of Yugoslavia. The poster scandal in 1987 marked the beginning of the end. The sound of Ravel's Bolero at the finishing ceremony of the Day of Youth in Belgrade, in 1988, also signaled the end of the relay baton and Day of Youth traditions.

RELAY STATISTICS

In the 43 years of the existence of Day of Youth celebrations, every third Yugoslavian took part in them. In the first twelve years (1945-1957) of its existence, more than 20,000 relay batons were made; their 10,286,500 carriers ran more than 877,000 kilometers.

WAYS OF TRAVELLING

The baton was present at various altitudes and depths. The divers took it into the deep blue sea and mountaineers onto the highest peaks, pilots took it for a flight, it kept sailors company on their ships, the skydivers jumped with her, kayakers escorted her through the rapids of Yugoslav rivers, motorcyclists took her to the end, accompanied by the smell of petrol fumes. Even pigeons carried batons - but only miniature ones.

THE APPEARANCE OF THE RELAY BATON

Most were made from wood and metal, what they had in common was the five-pronged star or a torch on the top. The first after-war relay batons were ingeniously made, with plenty of nadve but daring combinations. Each relay baton had a special secret compartment where messages and congratulations for the Marshal were saved. The authors were mostly anonymous, usually workers, youths and pioneers. Later, batons became almost works of art, created by artists chosen in competitions or by using the principle of rotation. Today the relay batons, given to Josip Broz every year for his birthday on May 25th at the finishing celebrations in Belgrade, are preserved in the Museum of Yugoslav History. There are quite a few; 20,000 relay batons and a selection of various messages from young Yugoslavians, given to Josip Broz when he was presented with the baton.