Power of Invictus: Prince Harry's event inspiring recovery releases new inspirational video
"Sport has the ability to heal, to change lives and to save lives," says Invictus Games founder and patron Prince Harry.
A new sports video has been released for Invictus Games Vancouver Whistler 2025 featuring footage of previous games, the Duke of Sussex and a message from one of the Canadian athletes inviting the world to the inspiring adaptive event.
The Invictus Games is an international multi-sport event launched in 2014 by the Duke of Sussex after taking inspiration from the 2013 Warrior Games.
'Lives are changed'
Prince Harry added in his video: "For so many of these competitors, getting to the start line has been one of the hardest moments of their life. But at the games, their lives are changed."
The Invictus Games "changed the life" of Canadian armed forces' Major (Retired) Patrick Lévis, whose journey to the games is shown in the new video.
"What is a life-changing event? It's something that has the power to transform your life, forever. From that moment forward, nothing is the same.
The Team Canada alumni, who participated in The Hague 2020 games, added: "You will see the world and your place in it in a different way. This is the power of the Invictus Games."
The adaptive event is aimed at wounded, injured or sick Armed Forces personnel and veterans, and it takes its name from the Latin word Invictus, meaning unconquered or undefeated.
Next year, Team UK has selected the biggest proportion of personnel serving in Invictus history to travel to Vancouver and Whistler for the seventh instalment of the games, which includes new winter sports for the first time.
The Invictus Games Vancouver Whistler 2025 will bring together more than 500 competitors from 20-plus nations to compete in adaptive sports.
Vancouver and Whistler were selected as the host cities by the Invictus Games Foundation following a competitive bid process – the same process which saw Birmingham selected as the host city for the Invictus Games in 2027.
A team of 64 has been selected to represent the UK at the games in Canada.
The team of 60 – plus four reserves – comprises 37 veterans and 27 service personnel, by far the biggest proportion of people still serving in the Armed Forces that Team UK have ever produced.
Squadron Leader Neil Thomas, one of the Team UK vice-captains, spoke to BFBS Forces News after the team was announced, during a skills session at the Milton Keynes SnoZone.
"Understanding that just because you're wounded or injured or you have some other issues... it's not the end of your career," he said.
"If anything, it's that rebalancing that allows you to continue to serve and contribute to the job that we all love to do when we joined up, which was serve our country."
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