Prince Harry’s veterans sports tournament, the Invictus Games, will return to his home country in 2027 after Birmingham, England, was announced as the host city. The Invictus Games Foundation considered both Birmingham and Washington D.C. for the job, with Birmingham’s National Exhibition Centre being chosen as the main venue. The first games were held in London in 2014, and the Birmingham event will be the eighth, having previously been held in Sydney, Orlando, the Hague, Dusseldorf, and Toronto.
The seventh games are set to be held in Whistler and Vancouver, Canada, next year, and will incorporate winter sports events into its roster. Harry, as patron of the games and its foundation, expressed his congratulations to Birmingham, UK, on winning the bid to host the Invictus Games 2027. He praised the city’s strong ties to the Armed Forces community and the unique spirit and vision it brings to life for competitors, their families, and spectators.
Birmingham has been the host city for several sports events, including the Commonwealth Games in 2022, attended by King Charles and Queen Camilla (when still Prince and Princess of Wales) and Prince William with Princess Kate. The decision to host the 2027 Invictus Games in Britain will bring speculation about Harry’s relationships with his family. Since his split from the monarchy in 2020, the gulf between the family has been laid bare, with Harry’s Spare memoir providing a tense picture of how his relationships with family members lay.
As king, Charles may be expected more than other family members to attend in support of his son and the games themselves. In 2022, when the event was held in the Hague, King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands attended as a guest of honor. Meghan Markle, who has attended each of the games since 2017, is likely to attend the 2027 event in Britain.
The news that Birmingham has been selected as the games’ future host city has been welcomed by the U.K. government’s newly appointed veterans minister, Al Carns. He stated that the Invictus Games harness the power of sport to supercharge the recovery and rehabilitation of military personnel and veterans.