In 2019, Sheffield will host the Invictus Games’ trials in July giving hundreds of war-wounded British the chance to represent their country at the 2020 Games in the Hague, Netherlands.
The UK trials will be a formal event for the first time in 2019 with participants able to take part in sports including athletics, wheelchair basketball, power-lifting, swimming and sitting volleyball.
Councillor Julie Dore, leader of Sheffield city council, said: “We are thrilled that in July 2019 Sheffield will be hosting the UK Trials for the Invictus Games in The Hague 2020. The Games, famously founded by Prince Harry, in 2014 and currently being held in Sydney, is a sporting event for wounded, injured and sick servicemen and women, with an enormous and growing worldwide profile.
“In Sheffield, we are becoming increasingly well-known as the leading city in the UK for adaptive and disability sport, which makes this a match made in sporting heaven. We are looking forward to giving a warm Sheffield welcome to the five hundred participants, as well as their teams and supporters, and are hugely proud to support our armed forces, along with Help for Heroes and the Royal British Legion.”
“We know people in Sheffield are great at getting behind major sporting events, so watch this space for more details about opportunities for communities and the business and cultural sector throughout the city to get involved and support the event. This is the first time the UK Invictus Trials will be run as a formal event in this way, and it is fantastic that Sheffield has been chosen to host this inaugural occasion at the forefront of a positive and exciting global movement.”
The Invictus Games, launched by Prince Harry in 2014, is the only international sporting event for wounded, injured and sick servicemen and women.
For more information, head to invictusgamesfoundation.org.
