The Duke of Sussex joins veterans, competitors and special guests at NEC to mark one year until IG27

Former Invictus Games competitor Dave Henson takes to the pickleball court to try one of the newest sports introduced at the Invictus Games.

The Duke of Sussex, Founder and Patron of the Invictus Games Foundation, joined wounded, injured and sick service personnel and veterans at the NEC Birmingham today to mark one year to go until the Invictus Games Birmingham 2027.

The milestone event brought together former competitors, veterans, supporters and members of the Armed Forces community, alongside public figures including Birmingham-born broadcaster Alison Hammond, broadcaster and former Invictus Games competitor JJ Chalmers, Birmingham City University Chancellor and broadcaster Ade Adepitan MBE, Al Carns MP for Birmingham Selly Oak, and event presenter Milly Pickles.

The day offered a preview of the sporting, community and recovery experiences that will define Birmingham 2027 when the Games return to the UK next summer.

For many competitors, Birmingham is already part of their recovery journey. Many first arrived in the city during some of the most challenging moments of their lives, receiving specialist treatment and rehabilitation at the Royal Centre for Defence Medicine at Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham, while their families were supported at Fisher House.

Next summer, they will return to Birmingham for a very different moment — not as patients, but as competitors — ready to reconnect, compete and show the world what is possible beyond injury.

Throughout the day, The Duke joined members of the Invictus Community to experience adaptive sporting activities that will feature at Birmingham 2027, including Pickleball and Laser Run — two new sports making their debut at the Games — alongside Hybrid Athletics, an innovative new format.

The new events showcased at the NEC by The Duke and members of the Invictus Community are part of ambitious and thrilling new sports programme for 2027 with the adapted sports and formats designed to maximise participation and demonstration and ensure a wide range of impairments and abilities are represented.

Prince Harry, The Duke of Sussex, said:

“To bring the Games back to the UK – thirteen years after London 2014 – feels incredibly special and if today showed us anything it’s that this is just the beginning. If this is just the warm-up, I think we're all in for something extraordinary.

At the heart of Invictus are the competitors - remarkable men and women who have served their countries and who continue to show us what courage really looks like.

Over the next year, thousands of people will help turn today's promise into next summer's reality. Whether you're a competitor, a family member, a volunteer, a supporter, a sponsor, or someone hearing about Invictus for the very first time today, there is a place for you.”

Wounded, injured and sick competitors took part alongside The Duke and guests across a series of adaptive sporting activities. Pickleball, one of the world's fastest-growing sports which combines elements of tennis, badminton and table tennis featured former Invictus Competitor and Paralympian, David Henson, and a representative from Scotty’s Little Soldiers.

Laser Run, a thrilling combination of running and laser shooting where speed and accuracy are equally important brought together competitors and members of the wider community, including the Duke, Alison Hammond, Al Carns MP, Ade Adepitan MBE, JJ Chalmers, para-athlete Rachel Massey and Birmingham-born broadcaster Alison Hammond.

Guests also watched a Wheelchair Rugby showcase featuring members of the wounded, injured and sick community before The Duke joined members of the Invictus Community for Hybrid Athletics alongside Steve Arnold, Gregg Stevenson, Stacey Denyer, Samantha May and Al Carns MP.

The activities showcased the determination, teamwork and resilience at the heart of adaptive sport, before leaders from across the Invictus Movement reflected on Birmingham’s role as host city and the year ahead.

Invictus Games Birmingham 2027 will also see the delivery of the most ambitious Social Impact programme in Invictus Games history delivering lasting benefits for over 2,500 WIS (Wounded, Injured and Sick) service personnel, veterans, and their families, as well as communities across Birmingham and the UK.

Launched earlier this year and focussed on the core themes of recovery, resilience and reconnection and rooted in the founding principles of the Invictus Games, it will provide over 1,000 adaptive sport and adventure opportunities for WIS, over 1,000 volunteering and paid roles for WIS and local residents, and pursuit of the ISO 20121:2024 certification – a first for an Invictus Games and a clear commitment to and demonstration of world class sustainability.

A dedicated education programme for 25,000 schoolchildren and students across Birmingham is already underway including a project with Birmingham City University’s (BCU) renowned School of Jewellery for students to design the official Invictus Games Birmingham 2027 medals using 500kg of reclaimed ammunition shells marking a profound symbol of transformation, resilience and renewal.

Al Carns MP, Birmingham Selly Oak talked about the meaning of service, resilience thanked members of the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham for their rehabilitation of members of the Armed Forces community. 

JJ Chalmers, broadcaster and former Invictus Games competitor, said:

“The Invictus spirit was named in London in 2014, but it was born years earlier in Birmingham - on the runway where we landed back, in Fisher house, in the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham. There is no better city to host this Games and no greater connection to our community.”

Rob Owen OBE, Chief Executive Officer of the Invictus Games Foundation, said:

"Birmingham represents something much bigger than a sporting event. For generations, Birmingham has quietly become one of the world's great military centres of recovery as a city where countless wounded service personnel have rebuilt their lives.

That legacy is something Britain should be immensely proud of and it's one of the reasons Birmingham feels like exactly the right place for the Invictus Games".

As preparations continue towards Birmingham 2027, the public is invited to join the Invictus Games community and be part of the journey to next summer’s Games.

Members of the community will be among the first to access ticket pre-sale opportunities, discover volunteering opportunities and receive the latest news and updates as excitement builds towards the Games.

Invictus Games Birmingham 2027 thanks its partners, including Defender, Fisher House, ATCO, Deloitte and the UK Ministry of Defence, whose support is helping bring the Games and its wider impact programme to life.

Al Carns, JJ Chalmers, Ade Adepitan and Prince Harry race in the Laser Run, a new sport at the Invictus Games.

The competitors were enthusiastically cheered on by the crowd, including Alison Hammond.

Hybrid Athletics combines strength and endurance in an innovative new take on the sport of athletics.

The One Year to Go celebration for the Invictus Games Birmingham 2027 brought together competitors, veterans, supporters and special guests for a day of adaptive sport demonstrations and community celebration at the NEC Birmingham.