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Prince Harry ’s Invictus Games have been postponed once again. The sporting event was originally scheduled to take place last May in The Hague, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic was rescheduled for 2021. However, the Invictus Games Foundation and the Organizing Committee announced on Tuesday, Feb. 2, that they intend to move the event to the spring of 2022.
“This move is to avoid current social distancing measures that would otherwise negatively impact the recovery journey of its competitors,” they said in a news release. “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. The competitor recovery journey and the wish to provide them with as much certainty as possible lay at the heart of the decision-making.”
To mark the postponement of the games, the Invictus Games Foundation released a video message of resilience featuring Prince Harry in addition to past and present competitors. “To the key workers on the frontlines in the battle against the pandemic, we are with you,” the Duke and competitors said. “And when the world is ready, we will compete with all we have, with all we are.”
The Duke of Sussex, who is patron of the Invictus Games Foundation, as well as Mart de Kruif, Chair of the Invictus Games The Hague 2020, and Sir Keith Mills, Chair of the Invictus Games Foundation, also released a joint statement saying, “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,” the organizers added. “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.”
Harry founded the Invictus Games in 2014. The international sporting event uses the power of sport to inspire recovery, support rehabilitation and generate a wider understanding and respect of all those who serve their country.