Prince Harry today paid tribute to ‘key workers on the front line’ in an emotional video announcing the 2020 Invictus games would be pushed back again.
The Duke of Sussex took part in the video posted as part of the announcement of latest postponement of the games – due to be held in the Hague, the Netherlands
The games were originally due to take place in May 2020, but were rescheduled until this year due to the Covid pandemic.
Now the event, which sees wounded, injured or sick armed services personnel compete in various sports, has been pushed back again – this time until 2022.
In the video, Prince Harry, who created the games, said: ‘To the key workers one the front lines in the battle against the pandemic, we are with you.’
Announcing the postponed of the 2020 Invictus Games on their website today, organisers said: ‘The Organising Committee are conducting plans to reschedule the Invictus Games to Spring 2022, and a date will soon be confirmed.
‘Options to deliver a Games this year, including digitally or later in 2021, were not taken forward by the respective boards of the Organising Committee or the Invictus Games Foundation on the basis of identifying the best opportunity to deliver a physical Games in The Hague which would bring the Invictus community together.
Prince Harry’s postponed 2020 Invictus Games has been pushed back again, it has today been announced
‘The competitor recovery journey and the wish to provide them with as much certainty as possible lay at the heart of the decision-making.’
Wouter Bakker, Captain of the Dutch Invictus Games team said: ‘Given the current Corona situation, the news comes as no surprise.
‘A digital variant or organising the event without an audience would not feel like an Invictus Games to me and does not do justice to the spirit of the Games. I, as well as my teammates, think that moving the event to the Spring of 2022 is the best decision.
‘This will end the uncertainty that all participants are in and we can properly prepare and focus on next year.’
Organisers say a series of activities to keep the Invictus Community together and demonstrate its continued resilience will be held between May 29 and June 5 this year.
More details will be announced in due course, organisers say.
In a joint message, signed by Invictus organisers and its patron, Prince Harry, those behind the games have vowed that ‘this does not mean support for the Invictus community will go dark in the meantime’.
In a joint message, signed by Invictus organisers and patron Prince Harry, they vowed that ‘this does not mean support for the Invictus community will go dark in the meantime’
In the statement, they added: ‘We are Invictus: from the communities that host and cherish the Games, and the competitors who display unshakeable resilience and commitment as they prepare for and participate in the Games, to the families and network of supporters who support these men and women on their journey to competition.
For so many around the world, the Invictus community included, COVID-19 has changed our expectations, hopes, and plans.
‘But our unwavering mission is one bound by resilience and community—and that mission will continue to shine through between now and Spring 2022, when we hope to see everybody in person again in The Hague.
‘For now, we are planning programming, opportunities to connect safely during the foreseeable future, and ways to infuse the spirit of Invictus in your own communities over the coming year. We’re excited to share more soon.’
Prince Harry created the Invictus games in which wounded, injured or sick armed services personnel and their associated veterans take part in nine sports.
The name ‘Invictus’ comes from the late Roman sun god by the same name. He was also named the ‘Unconquered Sun’ – which is where the games takes its ‘unconquered’ message.
The first event was held in 2014 in London, before a follow-up event was held in the United States two years later.
The last games was held in 2018 in Sydney. Organisers had planned the 2020 event to take place in the Netherlands in May that year, but it was postponed in March following the outbreak of the Covid pandemic.
Alongside the postponed 2020 event, a 2023 event is scheduled to take place in Dusseldorf in Germany.