2020 Invictus Games

The 2020 Invictus Games was an adaptive multi-sport event for wounded, injured and ill veteran and active defence personnel, that took place in The Hague, Netherlands in April 2022, after having been postponed twice. It was the fifth edition of the Invictus Games.[1][2]

Invictus Games – The Hague 2020
Host cityThe Hague, Netherlands
Nations participating17
Debuting countries2
Athletes participating~500
Opening ceremony16 April 2022 (2022-04-16)
Closing ceremony22 April 2022 (2022-04-22)
Officially opened byPrince Harry, Duke of Sussex
Main venueSportcampus Zuiderpark
Websiteinvictusgames2020.com
Hague skyline

Development and preparation

The games were to be held on 9–16 May 2020 at the Zuiderpark,[3] but were postponed to 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. They were then postponed again to the spring of 2022.[4] The opening ceremony on 16 April 2022 was attended by the event's founding patron Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, and his wife Meghan, Duchess of Sussex.[5] Also in attendance were Princess Margriet of the Netherlands, who is the Honorary Chair of the committee of recommendation of the 2020 Invictus Games and who christened the official Invictus Games Tulip in June 2021, and her son Prince Pieter-Christiaan.[6][7] Representatives of participating nations were also present.[6] King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands attended the closing ceremony on 22 April 2022.[8]

The Royal Dutch Mint was announced as the sponsor and designer of the medals and other special sporty issues for the games.[9]

The Games

Participating countries

The 18 participating countries of the 2018 Invictus Games were invited back, along with new invitations to Belgium and South Korea.[10]

Due to COVID measures, Jordan, Afghanistan and New Zealand could not attend.[11] The 17 participating countries were:

Another team titled "Unconquered" also participated in certain events consisting of competitors from multiple nations.

Sports

There are 9 adaptive sports contested at the Games as well as the Land Rover Driving Challenge.[12]

  • Archery
  • Athletics
  • Indoor rowing
  • Powerlifting
  • Road cycling
  • Sitting volleyball
  • Swimming
  • Wheelchair basketball
  • Wheelchair rugby
  • Land Rover Driving Challenge

Medalists

Sitting volleyball
  • Gold - Poland
  • Silver - Georgia
  • Bronze - USA[13]

Wheelchair basketball
  • Gold - USA
  • Silver - Netherlands
  • Bronze - UK[14]

Wheelchair rugby
  • Gold - USA
  • Silver - UK
  • Bronze - Australia[15]

Land Rover driving challenge
  • Gold - France
  • Silver - Romania
  • Bronze - Georgia[16]

Media and broadcast

The games will be documented in a Netflix documentary called Heart of Invictus.[17] Alex Jones and JJ Chalmers covered the event in a 6 episode nightly recap programme on BBC One from 17 to 22 April 2022.[18] On 8 April 2022, the British embassy in The Netherlands announced the podcast series Invictus Voices, which features interviews with the competitors.[19]

References
  1. "THE HAGUE 2022 – Invictus Games Foundation". Retrieved 2021-04-07.
  2. "Harry and Meghan announce Netflix show about Invictus Games". The Guardian. 2021-04-06. Retrieved 2021-04-07.
  3. "Invictus Games". Invictus Games Hague 2020 (in Dutch). Retrieved 2019-10-18.
  4. Nolasco, Stephanie (19 March 2020). "Prince Harry's Invictus Games postponed to 2022 due to coronavirus pandemic". Fox News. Retrieved 19 March 2020.
  5. Scobie, Omid (11 April 2022). "Duchess Meghan Will Join Prince Harry at the Invictus Games in the Netherlands This Weekend". Harper's Bazaar. Retrieved 13 April 2022.
  6. Crawford-Smith, James (13 April 2022). "Prince Harry to Bring Mental Health Startup BetterUp Into Invictus Fold". Newsweek. Retrieved 13 April 2022. Alongside Harry and Meghan, the Dutch King Willem-Alexander has also confirmed his attendance and representatives of the 20 nations taking part are also expected to be present at different events.
  7. "H.R.H. Princess Margriet christens official Invictus Games The Hague 2020 Tulip". 3 June 2021. Retrieved 13 April 2022.
  8. Barger, Brittani (13 April 2022). "Which Dutch royals will attend the Invictus Games?". Royal Central. Retrieved 13 April 2022.
  9. "Invictus Games The Hague 2020". Royal Dutch Mint. Retrieved 17 April 2022.
  10. "Competitors". Invictus Games Hague 2020. Retrieved 11 April 2022.
  11. "Dit moet je weten over de Invictus Games komend weekend in Den Haag". Omroep West (in Dutch). 2022-04-16. Archived from the original on 2022-04-17. Retrieved 2022-04-17.
  12. "Sports". Invictus Games Hague 2020. Retrieved 11 April 2022.
  13. "The Sport Reaults: Sitting Volleyball". Invictus Games Hague 2020. Retrieved 1 May 2022.
  14. "The Sport Results: Wheelchair Basketball". Invictus Games Hague 2020. Retrieved 1 May 2022.
  15. "The Sport Results: Wheelchair Rugby". Invictus Games Hague 2020. Retrieved 1 May 2022.
  16. "The Sport Results: Land Rover Driving Challenge". Invictus Games Hague 2020. Retrieved 1 May 2022.
  17. Waterson, Jim (2021-04-06). "Harry and Meghan announce Netflix show about Invictus Games". The Guardian. Retrieved 2022-04-18.
  18. "Alex Jones and JJ Chalmers to front the Invictus Games coverage from The Netherlands – & the surprise Royal call". Virgin Radio UK. 7 April 2022. Retrieved 11 April 2022.
  19. UK in NL [@ukinnl] (8 April 2022). "Introducing our new podcast series: Invictus Voices where we speak with those involved in @InvictusGamesNL" (Tweet). Retrieved 11 April 2022 – via Twitter.
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