Explained: What are the Invictus Games, patronised by Britain’s Prince Harry?

For the ‘unconquered’

The Games are an international sporting competition similar to the Paralympics, but meant for wounded, injured, and sick military service personnel and war veterans.

The Games website says: “The word ‘invictus’ means ‘unconquered’. It embodies the fighting spirit of wounded, injured and sick Service personnel and personifies what these tenacious men and women can achieve post injury. The Games harness the power of sport to inspire recovery, support rehabilitation and generate a wider understanding and respect for those who serve their country.”

The Invictus Games, it says, are “much more than just sport – it captures hearts, challenges minds and changes lives”. The Games draw inspiration from the British poet William Ernest Henley’s 1875 poem ‘Invictus’.

Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, talks to member of Team Ukraine at the Invictus Games in The Hague, Netherlands, Sunday, April 17, 2022. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)

Prince Harry’s Games

The Invictus Games are the brainchild of Harry, Duke of Sussex, who attended the Warrior Games in the United States in 2013, and wanted to start something similar in London.

The Warrior Games are a multi-sport event organised by the US Department of Defense to “celebrate the resiliency and dedication of wounded, ill, and injured active duty and veteran US military service members”. The Warrior Games were held every year from 2010 to 2019, when they were disrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic. The 2022 edition, hosted by the US Army, are scheduled for August 19-28.

The Invictus Games website says the “Duke (Harry) sees the Games as an important part of a broader legacy of support, through a combination of on-going care, training and employment opportunities, to the well-being of those men and women who have served their country.”

Harry is the Patron of the Games. The Invictus Games Foundation, set up after the inaugural event in London in 2014, is the owner of the brand and the selector of future host cities. It is also responsible for managing the competition, setting the rules and categorisations, and branding it.

The ongoing Games

The Games currently underway at The Hague were supposed to have been held in 2020, but were postponed due to the pandemic. The Games began on Saturday with a driving challenge around an automotive obstacle course, the AP reported.

Over 500 competitors from 20 countries are participating in a series of adaptive sports, including athletics, archery, cycling, indoor rowing, powerlifting, sitting volleyball, swimming, wheelchair basketball and wheelchair rugby.

Among the participating countries are, besides Ukraine, Canada, Georgia, Romania, the United Kingdom, the US, Poland, and Denmark.

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