Host city Toronto | Country Canada | |
Opening ceremony September 23, 2017 (2017-09-23) Closing ceremony September 30, 2017 (2017-09-30) Website www.invictusgames2017.com | ||
The 2017 Invictus Games is a parasport event for wounded, injured or sick armed services personnel and their associated veterans, which will be held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The third installment of the Invictus Games, created in 2014 by Prince Harry, will include eleven sports. It is the second Games to be held in North America, following the Invictus Games Orlando 2016.
Contents
Development and preparation
Games CEO is Michael Burns.
Torch relay
The relay will take place between 19 August and 26 September, visiting all 32 Canadian Forces bases and neighbouring communities, being carried by over 1000 torchbearers. The route is charted as being 7000 kilometres long.
Venues
The Games will use some of the facilities from the 2015 Pan Am Games, held in Toronto.
* Additional venues to be confirmed
Funding
The Royal Canadian Legion was asked by organizers to be a sponsor; the 30 members of the Legion council who met voted unanimously in support. Their $500,000 donation drew criticism from Canadian Veterans Advocacy, who suggested that drawing on the Poppy Campaign donations as opposed to other revenue sources was inappropriate. The Legion and columnists have defended the use of funds as supporting the mission, noting other veteran welfare projects like purchasing a specialized MRI for a mental health clinic.
Marketing
A dog named Vimy was announced as the Games' mascot in April 2015. It is named for the Battle of Vimy Ridge, considered by many as a defining moment in Canadian history. A few days later, Prince Harry attended an exhibition sledge hockey game at Mattamy Athletic Centre in Toronto, alongside Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Toronto Mayor John Tory, as part of a series of launch events at the Royal York Hotel, and with Elizabeth Dowdeswell in the office of the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, at the Legislative Assembly of Ontario, Queen's Park.
Participating nations
All 15 countries from the 2016 Games are invited back, while Romania and Ukraine will make their debut.
Sports
Broadcasters
Bell Media was announced as the exclusive broadcast partner of the Games, in a deal covering both the Orlando 2016 and Toronto 2017 events. Events will be shown on TSN. The station is helping run the Toronto launch ceremony in May 2016.