Invictus Games

The Invictus Games is an international multi-sport event first held in 2014, for wounded, injured and sick servicemen and women, both serving and veterans. The word 'Invictus' means 'unconquered', chosen as an embodiment of the fighting spirit of the wounded, injured and sick service personnel and what they can achieve, post-injury.[1]

For the Hungarian video game company, see Invictus Games (company).
Not to be confused with Invictus Gaming.

Invictus Games
MottoI AM
First event2014
HeadquartersLondon, United Kingdom
Governance bodyFounding patron:
Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex
Chairman:
Lord Allen of Kensington
Chief Executive:
Dominic Reid
Trustees:
David Henson
Debbie Jevans
Edward Lane Fox
Guy Monson
Paddy Nicoll
Mary Reilly
WebsiteOfficial website Edit this at Wikidata
Disability
Theory and models
Education
Therapy
Societal implications
Personal assistance
Socioeconomic assistance
  • Groups
  • Organizations
Parasports
Culture
    •  Disability
    • Lists

The Invictus Games were founded by Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex. The inspiration came from the Warrior Games in the United States, where Prince Harry witnessed the ability of sport to help both psychologically and physically.[1]

Launch
Medals from London 2014

The Games were launched on 6 March 2014 by Prince Harry at London's Copper Box arena, used as a venue during the 2012 Olympics. Having seen a British team competing at the US Warrior Games held in Colorado in 2013, Harry wished to bring the concept of a similar international sporting event to the United Kingdom.[2][3][4][5] With the backing of Mayor of London Boris Johnson, the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games and the Ministry of Defence, the event was put together over ten months.[6][7] £500,000 of funding for the project came from the Endeavour Fund, an arm of the Royal Foundation Prince Harry had created specifically for veteran's recovery, with an equal amount being pledged by Chancellor George Osborne from Treasury funds generated by fines imposed on banks as a result of the Libor scandal.[6][8] The Games were also sponsored by Jaguar Land Rover.[5] Boeing was announced as a sponsor in 2018 and became a presenting partner in 2023. Speaking at the launch, Prince Harry said that the Games would "demonstrate the power of sport to inspire recovery, support rehabilitation and demonstrate life beyond disability".[9] He also said that their long-term objective was to ensure that injured troops are not forgotten as Britain's involvement with the War in Afghanistan comes to an end.[6][10]

Host cities
Host cities of the Invictus Games
Number Year City Country Venue Nations Opening ceremony Closing ceremony
1 2014 London  United Kingdom Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park 14 10 September 2014 14 September 2014
2 2016 Orlando  United States ESPN Wide World of Sports 15 8 May 2016 12 May 2016
3 2017 Toronto  Canada Air Canada Centre 17 23 September 2017 30 September 2017
4 2018 Sydney  Australia Sydney Olympic Park 18 20 October 2018 27 October 2018
5 2020[lower-alpha 1] The Hague  Netherlands Sportcampus Zuiderpark 17 16 April 2022 22 April 2022
6 2023 Düsseldorf  Germany Merkur Spiel-Arena 22 9 September 2023 16 September 2023
7 2025 Vancouver-Whistler  Canada Vancouver Convention Centre 22 6 February 2025 17 February 2025
  1. The 2020 Invictus Games were held in 2022, after initially being postponed to 2021, but later being postponed to 2022, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Invictus Games Foundation

The Invictus Games Foundation is the owner of the brand and the selector of future Host Cities. It is responsible for sport and competition management, rules, categorisations and branding.

The bidding process for future games started in November 2014.[11]

Governance

The people who govern the foundation are:[12]

Trustees
  • Sir Keith Mills (formerly chairman)
  • Dave Henson (British Team Captain of the 2014 Invictus Games)
  • Debbie Jevans (formerly Director of Sport for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games; Organising committee member Invictus Games 2014)
  • Edward Lane Fox (former Private Secretary to Prince Harry)
  • Guy Monson (Trustee, The Royal Foundation of The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry)
  • Paddy Nicoll (Trustee, HALO Trust; formerly Army, Row2Recovery and Invictus Games 2014)
  • Mary Reilly (also on the Board of the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games, organising committee member of Invictus Games 2014)

Staff:

  • Chief Executive: Dominic Reid OBE
  • Chief Operating Officer: Richard Smith CBE
  • Communications Director: Sam Newell
  • Finance Director: Carolyn Liddard
  • Commercial and Fundraising Director: Matt Collis
  • Grants and Programme Director: Mickaela Richards
  • International Development Director: David Wiseman
  • Digital Communications Manager: Paul Saunders
  • Endeavours Programme Manager: Fiona Cranswick
  • Operations Manager: Caroline Davis
  • Invictus Community Liaison Executive: Josh Boggi
  • Grants and Operations Support Executive: Helen Bridle

Ambassador

Lewis Hamilton, a seven-time Formula One World Champion, was appointed as the first ambassador;[13] he visited Tedworth House before the announcement.[14] In July 2015, Lewis invited some Invictus Games athletes to the British Grand Prix.[15]

History

2014 Invictus Games
Main article: 2014 Invictus Games
Four runners from Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States during a 100-metre qualifying heat at the 2014 Invictus Games
Three American defenders knock the ball away from an Australian player during a wheelchair rugby pool match between the United States and Australia at the 2014 Invictus Games

The first Invictus Games were held on 10–14 September 2014.[6][5][16][17] Around 300 competitors from 13 countries which have fought alongside the United Kingdom in recent military campaigns participated. Competitive events were held at many of the venues used during the 2012 Olympics, including the Copper Box and the Lee Valley Athletics Centre. The Games were broadcast by the BBC.[6][18]

14 countries were invited to the 2014 games, 8 from Europe, 2 from Asia, 2 from North America and 2 from Oceania. No countries from Africa were invited. Teams from all the invited countries, except Iraq, took part.

The closing concert was broadcast on BBC Two, hosted by Clare Balding and Greg James.[19] The concert was hosted by Nick Grimshaw and Fearne Cotton, with live performances from Foo Fighters, Kaiser Chiefs, James Blunt, Rizzle Kicks, Bryan Adams and Ellie Goulding.[20][21][22]

2016 Invictus Games
Main article: 2016 Invictus Games
Academy Award-winning actor Morgan Freeman narrates for the opening ceremony to the 2016 Invictus games in Orlando, Florida

On 14 July 2015 Prince Harry announced the 2016 Invictus Games would take place from 8–12 May 2016 at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando, Florida.[23]

On 28 October 2015, Prince Harry, USA's First Lady Michelle Obama and Second Lady Jill Biden launched Invictus Games 2016 at Fort Belvoir.[24]

U.S. Invictus wheelchair basketball team members celebrate their gold medal win at the 2016 Invictus Games

In order to bring Invictus Games to the US, Military Adaptive Sports Inc. (MASI) was created, and worked to build on the success of the Invictus Games 2014 held in London.[25] Ken Fisher served as chairman and CEO for Invictus Games Orlando 2016.[26]

All 14 countries from the 2014 Games were invited back, while Jordan was the only new invitee.[27]

2017 Invictus Games
Main article: 2017 Invictus Games

Toronto hosted the 2017 Invictus Games in September 2017 during Canada's sesquicentennial. Building from hosting the Pan American and Parapan American Games in 2015, Toronto's organizers planned to feature more competitors, nations and sports—such as ice events—than previously.[28]

Unlike prior games which were hosted at a single site, multiple venues around the Greater Toronto Area hosted the 12 sporting events and opening and closing ceremonies.[29][30] The Air Canada Centre hosted the ceremonies. Fort York National Historic Site hosted the archery; Nathan Phillips Square hosted wheelchair tennis; Ryerson University's Mattamy Athletic Centre hosted the indoor rowing, powerlifting, sitting volleyball, wheelchair basketball and wheelchair rugby; St. George's Golf and Country Club hosted the golf; The Distillery District hosted the Jaguar Land Rover driving challenge; High Park hosted cycling; Toronto Pan Am Sports Centre hosted swimming, sitting volleyball and wheelchair basketball; and York Lions Stadium hosted the athletics.

Michael Burns was the CEO for the 2017 Games, and the official mascot for the Games was Vimy, a Labrador.[31]

All 15 countries from the 2016 Games were invited back, with new invitations going to Romania and Ukraine.[32]

2018 Invictus Games
Main article: 2018 Invictus Games

Bids to host the 2018 Invictus Games closed in December 2015.[33] The Gold Coast in Australia announced its intention to bid, using facilities built for the 2018 Commonwealth Games.[34] In November 2016, Sydney, Australia, was announced as the host city.[35]

Patrick Kidd was the CEO. The Royal Australian Mint released a commemorative $1 coin featuring Braille text in the lead-up to the Games.[36]

All 17 countries from the 2017 Games were invited back, with an invitation extended to Poland.[37]

2020 Invictus Games
Main article: 2020 Invictus Games

The games were to be held on 9–16 May 2020 at the Zuiderpark Stadion in The Hague, Netherlands,[38] but were postponed to 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. They were then postponed again to the Spring of 2022.[39] The new dates were 16 April to 22 April 2022.[40]

In April 2021, it was announced that Heart of Invictus, a Netflix documentary series in partnership with Invictus Games and Archewell, would surround the competitors from the 2022 Invictus Games.[41] Prince Harry would executive produce the series and appear on camera. The funding from the documentary series would go to the Invictus Games Foundation, and their work supporting international wounded, injured and sick service personnel and veterans.[41][42]

2023 Invictus Games
Main article: 2023 Invictus Games
An industral climber installs a large poster for the Invictus Games 2023 in Düsseldorf
Closing event of the Invictus Games in Düsseldorf 2023, entry United Kingdom

Games were to be held in 2022 in Düsseldorf, Germany,[43] in the Merkur Spiel-Arena.[44] Following the postponement of the 2020 Games to 2022, the Düsseldorf Games were postponed to 2023.[45]

2025 Invictus Games

On 22 April 2022, the Duke of Sussex announced that the 2025 games will take place in Vancouver and Whistler, Canada.[46] It is planned to be the first games to feature winter adaptive sports, including alpine skiing, Nordic skiing, skeleton and wheelchair curling.[46] The bid to host the games was submitted by True Patriot Love Foundation, in partnership with the Government of Canada, the province of British Columbia and the two Canadian municipalities and in partnership with the local Lil'wat, Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh indigenous nations.[46]

See also

References
  1. "The Invictus Games Story – Invictus Games Foundation". Retrieved 6 April 2021.
  2. "Prince Harry launches Paralympic-style games for soldiers". BBC News. 6 March 2014. Retrieved 6 March 2014.
  3. "What this inspiring contest means to me". London Evening Standard. 6 March 2014. Retrieved 6 March 2014.
  4. "Prince Harry launches Invictus Games for injured troops at Olympic Park". The Guardian. 6 March 2014. Retrieved 6 March 2014.
  5. "Prince Harry launches 'Invictus Games' for wounded vets". USA Today. 6 March 2014. Retrieved 6 March 2014.
  6. Sherwin, Adam (6 March 2014). "Prince Harry wins £1m funding in LIBOR bank fines to help stage 'Invictus Games' for injured servicemen and women at the Olympic Park". The Independent. Independent Print Limited. Retrieved 6 March 2014.
  7. Jobson, Robert (6 March 2014). "London will host Prince Harry's version of the Warrior Games". London Evening Standard. Retrieved 9 March 2014.
  8. "Prince Harry launches 'Invictus Games' for wounded veterans". Postmedia News. 6 March 2014. Retrieved 7 March 2014.
  9. "Video: Prince Harry launches Invictus Games for wounded servicemen". The Daily Telegraph. 6 March 2014. Archived from the original on 7 March 2014. Retrieved 6 March 2014.
  10. "Prince Harry calls for public support for September's Invictus Games for disabled soldiers". East London Advertiser. 7 March 2014. Archived from the original on 7 March 2014. Retrieved 7 March 2014.
  11. "BIDDING PROCESS OPEN FOR ASPIRING HOSTS OF FUTURE INVICTUS GAMES". Invictus Games Foundation. Archived from the original on 15 July 2015. Retrieved 15 July 2015.
  12. "Governance". Invictus Games Foundation.
  13. "Stevenage driver Lewis Hamilton named as Invictus Games ambassador". ITV News. 27 June 2015. Retrieved 13 May 2016.
  14. "LEWIS HAMILTON UNVEILED AS FIRST AMBASSADOR FOR INVICTUS GAMES FOUNDATION". Invictus Games Foundation. Archived from the original on 15 July 2015. Retrieved 15 July 2015.
  15. "He's busy getting ready 4 #BritishGP but @lewishamilton spent time meeting #InvictusGames competitors". Invictus Games Twitter account.
  16. Adams, Sam (6 March 2014). "What are the Invictus Games?". Daily Mirror. Retrieved 6 March 2014.
  17. "Prince Harry launches Invictus Games for soldiers". Zee News. 6 March 2014. Retrieved 6 March 2014.
  18. "Prince Harry launches sports event for wounded soldiers". One News. TVNZ. 7 March 2014. Retrieved 12 March 2014.
  19. Ringwood, Shaun (14 September 2014). "The Invictus Games – Closing Concert on BBC Two tonight featuring Foo Fighters, Kaiser Chiefs, Ellie Goulding & Diversity". Scunthorpe Telegraph. Local World. Archived from the original on 17 September 2014. Retrieved 15 September 2014.
  20. "Invictus Games go out on a high with Foo Fighters, Ellie Goulding and more". Digital Spy. 14 September 2014. Archived from the original on 22 February 2015. Retrieved 15 September 2014.
  21. Paine, Andre (15 September 2014). "Invictus Games Closing Concert, Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park – music review: Foo Fighters singer Dave Grohl dedicated My Hero to 'all the heroes'". London Evening Standard. Retrieved 15 September 2014.
  22. McCormick, Neil (15 September 2014). "Invictus Games closing concert, Olympic Park, review: 'heroic endeavour'". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 15 September 2014.
  23. "PRINCE HARRY ANNOUNCES SECOND INVICTUS GAMES IN ORLANDO". Invictus Games Foundation. Archived from the original on 2 May 2016.
  24. "PRINCE HARRY JOINS FIRST LADY MICHELLE OBAMA AND DR. BIDEN TO OFFICIALLY LAUNCH INVICTUS GAMES ORLANDO 2016". Invictus Games Foundation. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016.
  25. "Military Adaptive Sports Inc. (MASI)". Invictus Games 2016. Archived from the original on 23 October 2018. Retrieved 29 October 2015.
  26. "Prince Harry Announces 2016 Invictus Games Coming to United States" (PDF). Invictus Games 2016.
  27. "Countries". Invictus Games 2016 – Orlando – May 8–12 – ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex. Archived from the original on 15 May 2016. Retrieved 12 May 2016.
  28. "Prince Harry Announces Third Invictus Games in Toronto" (Press release). London: Invictus Games Foundation. The Canadian Press. 16 March 2016. Retrieved 16 March 2016.
  29. "2017 Invictus Games Venues – Locations, Descriptions & Photos". Retrieved 20 June 2016.
  30. Dan Taekema (16 March 2016). "Toronto to host Invictus Games and Prince Harry in 2017". thestar.com. Retrieved 9 May 2016.
  31. Oliver Sachgau (29 April 2016). "Meet Vimy, the 2017 Invictus Games mascot". thestar.com. Retrieved 9 May 2016.
  32. "Countries". Nations – Invictus Games 2017. Retrieved 20 June 2017.
  33. "FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS". Invictus Games Foundation. Archived from the original on 5 June 2016. Retrieved 16 May 2016.
  34. "Gold Coast to bid to host Prince Harry's Invictus Games". Gold Coast Bulletin. 5 November 2015.
  35. "Prince Harry names Sydney as 2018 Invictus Games host". BBC News. 14 August 2017.
  36. "Invictus Games Commemorative coin released". finance.nine.com.au. Retrieved 19 July 2021.
  37. "Countries". Nations – Invictus Games 2018. Retrieved 19 December 2017.
  38. "Invictus Games". Invictus Games (in Dutch). Retrieved 18 October 2019.
  39. Nolasco, Stephanie (19 March 2020). "Prince Harry's Invictus Games postponed to 2022 due to coronavirus pandemic". Fox News. Retrieved 19 March 2020.
  40. "The Invictus Games The Hague 2020". Invictus Games Foundation. Retrieved 10 January 2021.
  41. "Prince Harry & Meghan Markle's Archewell Productions Scores First Netflix Order With Invictus Docuseries". Deadline. 6 April 2021. Retrieved 6 April 2021.
  42. "New Netflix series to cover the Invictus Games Foundation and the journey to the Invictus Games The Hague 2020". Invictus Games Foundation. 6 April 2021. Retrieved 24 April 2022.
  43. "HRH The Duke of Sussex announces the Invictus Games 2022 will be held in Düsseldorf, Germany". The Invictus Games Foundation. 15 January 2020. Retrieved 15 January 2020.
  44. duesseldorf.de: Deutschland richtet die Invictus Games 2022 in Düsseldorf aus
  45. "Invictus Games Düsseldorf 2023". www.invictusgames23.de. Archived from the original on 6 July 2020. Retrieved 6 July 2020.
  46. Karstens-Smith, Gemma (22 April 2022). "Invictus Games to feature winter sports for 1st time when Vancouver, Whistler host in 2025". CBC News. Retrieved 22 April 2022.
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