Invictus Games explained as Prince Harry attends opening ceremony

ok.co.uk:

As Prince Harry hits the headlines again this weekend as he attends the opening ceremony of the Invictus Games, royal watchers and sports fans from all around the world will no doubt be tuning in to the next four days of nail biting sport.

Yet unlike other international sporting competitions, one thing that makes the Invictus Games unique, is that all of the competitors are wounded servicemen, women and veterans who are hoping to represent their countries once more and secure a hard fought victory.

Well known to be associated with the Prince, who in fact founded the games back in 2014, we've rounded up a list of everything you need to know about the Invictus Games.The origins As an ex-soldier himself, Prince Harry has always been fascinated with the stories and experiences of his peers in the military and back in 2013, while he was was still an active serviceman, he was given the opportunity to visit the Warrior Games in the USA.The event, which is hosted by the US Ministry of Defence, is essentially a sporting competition held for wounded personnel - and it was an idea that Harry soon “stole” (his own words!) to bring the event to the UK and help other wounded veterans around the world. "He saw how the power of sport could help physically, psychologically and socially,” a statement on the Invictus Games website explained. "His mind was made up.

London would host the inaugural Invictus Games, an international sporting event for wounded, injured and sick Service personnel.” Just one year later, in 2014, the very first Invictus Games kicked off in London.