A video was posted featuring Prince Harry and Queen Elizabeth of the United Kingdom where they received a message coming from the Obamas, where they assert that they will “bring it” for the Invictus Games of 2016.
The Invictus Games are to be held from May 8 to May 12 in Orlando, Florida. It is an event with many similarities to the Paralympics, and it is where armed services personnel with disabilities and veterans will face each other in a wide array of sporting disciplines.
The Invictus Games
The first edition of the Invictus Games took place in London of 2014. The 2016 edition of the Invictus Games will develop at the ESPN Wide World of Sports at Walt Disney World; 2017’s edition will be held in Toronto, Canada.
Not every country is invited to participate, as 2014’s edition did not feature African countries. The invited teams of 2014 included Afghanistan, Australia, Canada, Denmark, Estonia, France, Georgia, Germany, Iraq, Italy, Netherlands, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States. This year’s edition will add Jordan to the list of invited countries.
The sporting event will feature athletics (triathlon, track & field), archery, indoor rowing, cycling, sitting volleyball, and wheelchair variations of rugby, basketball, and tennis.
The Invictus Games seek to bring attention towards veteran men and women so they have an opportunity in running, swimming and playing against their brothers-in-arms. Seeing that not every country is invited to these games, they are a statement regarding military prowess and the current state of world politics, as the main sponsors are the United Kingdom and the United States, where Prince Harry is the creator of the sporting event altogether.
The current approach to the promotion of the games seeks to engage with younger audiences and to create a setting where both British and American governments prove that they have “their head in the game” in a healthy but influential environment, as it is Twitter.
The video has reached a great deal of popularity as the promotion of the event was brought forward thanks to tweets from Kensington Palace and Michelle Obama, sharing the aforementioned video and receiving a broad acceptance from the social media audience. The Twitter account of the Invictus Games also has a substantial digital following.
The first edition of the Invictus games proved to be a success as it ended with a closing ceremony concert, featuring popular acts such as Ellie Goulding, Foo Fighters, and Kaiser Chiefs.
Source: Gloucester Citizen