Düsseldorf hands over the Invictus flag to Vancouver Whistler 2025
As the curtain closes on an inspiring ten days in Düsseldorf, the Invictus Games journey to recovery will continue as we start looking forward to the next chapter in Vancouver Whistler 2025.
Today’s closing ceremony of the Invictus Games Düsseldorf 2023 is not only a special moment to celebrate all the great achievements and resilience of the competitors, friends and family – it also marks the official handover to Canada.
The special handover moment will see Team Canada co-captains Alaina Mundy and Bernard Caissie receiving the official Invictus flag from the Invictus Games Foundation.
With just over 500 days to go, there are lots of reasons to be excited about the Invictus Games Vancouver Whistler 2025 which will take place from 6 to 17 February, 2025.
First-ever winter sports programme
The Invictus Games Vancouver Whistler 2025 will host the first winter adaptive sports programme at the Invictus Games. The 2025 games will offer the Invictus community the chance to compete and experience a world-class winter sports programme of alpine skiing, Nordic skiing, skeleton, and wheelchair curling.
The winter sports program will be hosted at Whistler – a world-famous winter resort with unparalleled facilities that will offer a truly memorable experience for participants and families.
In addition to the winter sports program, the 2025 games will also feature the core Invictus Games summer sports. This will include all the favourites from previous Invictus Games such as: indoor rowing, sitting volleyball, swimming, wheelchair basketball and wheelchair rugby.
The indoor sports program will be hosted at some of Vancouver’s top venues, all within a 10km radius of each other. With stunning mountain and water backdrops and one of North America’s most cosmopolitan cities, participants and spectators will be able to enjoy an unrivalled mix of outdoor activities, a global food scene and top cultural attractions.
Collaboration with First Nations
Another unique element to the Invictus Games Vancouver Whistler 2025, will see the 2025 Games delivered in collaboration with the First Nations and indigenous communities of Canada.
The First Nations, Inuit and Métis of Canada have a long and proud tradition of military service in Canada dating back over 200 years. However, following decades of discrimination across many sections of society, Canada established the Truth & Reconciliation Commission, which developed 96 Calls to Action – a set of actionable recommendations that acknowledge the full extent of the horrifying treatment of Canada’s indigenous groups and is helping to create systems to prevent these abuses from ever happening again in the future.
The Invictus Games Vancouver Whistler 2025 will specifically respond to Canada’s Truth & Reconciliation Commission Calls to Action and ensure that the Four First Nations languages, traditions, protocols and cultures are meaningfully acknowledged, respected and represented in the planning, staging and hosting of the Games.
Beyond Canada’s indigenous communities, the 2025 Games will be used as a platform to recognize and promote greater inclusion of Indigenous peoples from other Invictus nations.
We are grateful that we have been given permission to host the Games on the traditional territories of the Lil̓wat7úl (Líl̓wat), xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish) and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations.
Today’s closing ceremony featured a poignant moment on the journey of reconciliation when Elected Councillor & Spokesperson for Squamish Nation Wilson Williams gifted a ceremonial paddle to Team Germany to thank them for their hospitality and to officially welcome them to attend Invictus Games to Vancouver and Whistler on behalf of the four Host First Nations.
Canada is excited to welcome back the Invictus community
Canada has fond memories of hosting the Invictus Games in Toronto 2017 and is looking forward to hosting up to 550 competitors from up to 25 nations in British Columbia in 2025.
The competitors, family and friends and spectators will receive a warm welcome in Canada. Vancouver and Whistler are truly international destinations and have a strong track record of hosting major events. Canadians are also passionate sports fans and are proud of their veterans and serving military personnel.
During the past week in Düsseldorf, Team Canada has given everyone a taste of Canadian hospitality and a sneak peek at what they can expect from the 2025 games with an activation at the Canada House in the Invictus Village.
We’ve seen lots of excitement from Invictus competitors, friends and family and spectators as they enjoyed Canadian bagpipers, a skeleton simulator and a curling rink – to name just a few.
Working in partnership
As well as hosting Canada House, the Invictus Games Vancouver Whistler team has spent this week observing and learning with the team from Düsseldorf. The exchange of knowledge and experiences between the two organizing committees will undoubtedly contribute to making the 2025 games a great success.
The Invictus Games Vancouver Whistler 2025 organizing committee will also be working with a number of partners to ensure the successful delivery of the Games. This includes three levels of the Canadian government, military partners, stakeholders, sponsors, media, sport partners and facility owners to draw on their networks and expertise to help deliver an incredible experience for everyone who comes to Vancouver and Whistler.
As Canada’s national foundation for its military and veteran community, True Patriot Love Foundation will play an important role in ensuring that Canada and the wider international military community are well engaged and represented at the 2025 Games.
