The Invictus Games is an international multi-sport event first held in 2014, for wounded, injured and sick military service personnel, both serving and veterans. The word invictus is Latin for 'unconquered', chosen as an embodiment of the fighting spirit of the wounded, injured and sick service personnel and what they can achieve, post-injury.
The Invictus Games were founded by Prince Harry, when he was joint patron of The Royal Foundation of The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry, along with Sir Keith Mills, and in partnership with the Ministry of Defence. Inspiration for the Invictus Games came from Prince Harry's 2013 visit to the Warrior Games in the United States, where he witnessed the ability of sport to help both psychologically and physically.
| 1 | 2014 | London | Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park | 14 | |||
| 2 | 2016 | Orlando | ESPN Wide World of Sports | 15 | |||
| 3 | 2017 | Toronto | Scotiabank Arena | 17 | |||
| 4 | 2018 | Sydney | Sydney Olympic Park | 18 | |||
| 5 | 2020 | The Hague | Sportcampus Zuiderpark | 17 | |||
| 6 | 2023 | Düsseldorf | Merkur Spiel-Arena | 21 | |||
| 7 | 2025 | Vancouver-Whistler | Vancouver Convention Centre | 23 | 8 | 16 | |
| 8 | 2027 | Birmingham | National Exhibition Centre | ||||
The bidding process for future games started in November 2014.
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. 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.
On 28 October 2015, Prince Harry, USA's First Lady Michelle Obama and Second Lady Jill Biden launched Invictus Games 2016 at Fort Belvoir.
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. Ken Fisher served as chairman and CEO for Invictus Games Orlando 2016.
All 14 countries from the 2014 Games were invited back, while Jordan was the only new invitee.
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. The Air Canada Centre hosted the ceremonies. Fort York 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.
All 15 countries from the 2016 Games were invited back, with new invitations going to Romania and Ukraine.
Patrick Kidd was the CEO. The Royal Australian Mint released a commemorative $1 coin featuring Braille text in the lead-up to the Games.
All 17 countries from the 2017 Games were invited back, with an invitation extended to Poland.
Off the back of the Invictus Games in Sydney, legacy organisation Invictus Australia was set up to continue to support veterans and their families through sport within Australia beyond the games period. It has partnerships with the Australian Sports Commission and Volunteering Australia.
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. 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.
For the first time pickleball is expected to be included in the Invictus Games. Carlisle-based Gaz Golightly, a military veteran and amputee, lobbied for inclusion of the sport after trying various wheelchair sports and deciding pickleball was by far the most inclusive for wheelchair users.
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