At Birmingham’s National Exhibition Centre, Prince Harry is taking part in “sporting showcases” of events that will feature in next year’s Invictus Games, including pickleball, laser run and hybrid athletics, which are all being introduced into the games for the first time.
Al Carns, who resigned as defence minister over a row about the level of military spending last month but remains MP for Birmingham Selly Oak, is also among those at today’s event, alongside former Invictus competitor turned TV presenter JJ Chalmers, and Rob Owen, CEO of the Invictus Games Foundation.
Next year’s Invictus, the first held in Britain since the inaugural games in London in 2014, are expected to be the largest yet, with 550 competitors from 25 nations taking part in 12 adaptive events in Birmingham.
The city’s Royal Centre for Defence Medicine at Queen Elizabeth Hospital was where many competitors were treated after suffering life-changing injuries in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Organisers say that as well as being a competition, Invictus provides “a recovery pathway beyond clinical treatment, helping wounded, injured and sick service personnel and veterans rebuild confidence, identity, purpose and connection through sport”.
Esports, laser run, pickleball, are being introduced into the games for the first time.