Lord Allen, Chair of the Invictus Games Foundation, has made an announcement regarding the event first set up by Prince Harry 10 years ago as the Duke gets ready to head to the UK next week
Prince Harry will be in the UK to mark 10 years of the Invictus Games next week before the event heads to Canada next year.
However, as the Duke’s involvement the Games comes under scrutiny, event organisers have announced there are only two cities in the running to host the 2027 event – Washington DC in the US and Birmingham in the UK. The final decision of where it will be held is expected to land in the coming weeks, but it’s now certain to return to a previous host city.
Lord Allen, Chair of the Invictus Games Foundation, said in a statement: “We were delighted to receive such a strong field of applications to host the Invictus Games in 2027, which gives us tremendous confidence for this next iteration of the Games following Invictus Games Vancouver Whistler 2025 presented by ATCO and Boeing.
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“Both cities now shortlisted for 2027 have kept the experiences of the competitors and supporters at their core, building different but hugely exciting bids. We look forward to the next stage of the process and selecting another inspirational iteration of the games over the summer.”
The announcement comes as reports suggest around 2,000 ex-military have left the games claiming the event has “lost its original meaning”. It was initially set up by Harry in 2014 to help support wounded, injured and sick service personnel and veterans.
Some have reportedly also taken issue with Meghan Markle’s involvement and claimed it is becoming “too royal”. However, despite the alleged pleas, one PR expert believes Harry will have no intention of leaving his project behind.
Ryan McCormick told us: “”Harry had no qualms about being honoured as a ‘Legend of Aviation’ in January so I don’t believe he’ll heed calls to step down from the Invictus Games.” Ryan did did suggest stepping down could pay off for Harry, though.
He added: “If The Duke did, however, and said it was out of respect to veterans, it could be a sizeable boost of positive PR.”
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