The Invictus Games The Hague 2020, presented by Jaguar Land Rover, was due to take place this year from May 29 to June 5, 2021, and has now been postponed. The Invictus Games Foundation and the Organising Committee, after consultation with the teams, partners and stakeholders, 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.
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. 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.”
The Invictus Games Foundation and the Organising Committee in The Hague will be working in close collaboration with the international teams to ensure there are continued sport recovery opportunities throughout this year, and intend to mark the period of 29 May -5 June 2021 with a series of activities to keep the Invictus Community together and demonstrate its continued resilience. More will be announced in due course.
This decision to postpone the Games has been taken in close consultation with the teams of the participating countries and in collaboration with local and national authorities, the Founding Partners and sponsors. The organisations are grateful for the continued support of all parties involved in delivering the Invictus Games The Hague, including the participants and their friends and families, the volunteers, partners, sponsors and suppliers.
In a joint message, the organisers made clear that this necessary change does not mean that support for the Invictus community will go dark in the meantime:
“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 continuing to plan 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.”
Signed by:
The Duke of Sussex, Patron of the Invictus Games Foundation
Mart de Kruif, Chair of the Invictus Games The Hague 2020
Sir Keith Mills, Chair of the Invictus Games Foundation