Prince Harry confirms Invictus Games 2020 will be held in The Hague

DutchNews, June 4, 2018

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle at the Invictus UK Team Trials in Bath in April.
Photo: Camera Press Ltd via HH

Britain’s prince Harry on Monday confirmed that the fifth edition of the Invictus Games will be held in The Hague. 

Harry said in a statement that the games will be held in the Netherlands in 2020 and that the event will ‘motivate hundreds of servicemen and women using the Invictus Games to inspire their recovery from physical and mental injuries’. 

The prince, who served with the British army in Afghanistan, created the Paralympic-style games to inspire injured soldiers toward recovery. This year the event takes place in Sydney in October and over 500 men and women from 19 countries are expected to take part. 

News that the games would be held in the Netherlands first leaked out last week and broadcaster NOS said the prince would be in the Netherlands at the end of July in connection with the event. 

The Hague mayor Pauline Krikke said in a reaction that she is ‘extremely proud’ the prince has chosen the Netherlands. ‘I am sure that these veterans will feel at home in our international city of peace and justice. We will welcome them with open arms.’