By The Numbers: Looking ahead to the 2025 Invictus Games in British Columbia
Canada will host the event for the second time, from February 8-16.
The 2025 Invictus Games get underway next week, with Canada playing host for the second time, in Vancouver and Whistler, British Columbia.
The event is a multi-sport competition for military service personnel from around the world (both serving and veterans) who are wounded, injured and sick. They were created by Prince Harry, who himself served in the British Army from 2005 to 2015, and inspired by the Warrior Games — a similar event organized every year in the United States.
This year’s edition will be the first to feature winter sports, and will take place in some iconic venues and locations across BC, including several that were front and centre at the 2010 Winter Olympics and Paralympics in the region. The Games will open on February 8 with a ceremony including music stars Katy Perry, Chris Martin, Noah Kahan and Nelly Furtado, and run until the closing ceremony on February 16.
Here are some key facts and figures ahead of next week.
7th edition of the event, 2nd on Canadian soil
The 2025 Invictus Games will be the seventh edition since the first one in 2014. That event was held in London, England, and since then there have been five more: Orlando 2016, Toronto 2017, Sydney 2018, The Hague 2020 (moved to 2022), and Düsseldorf 2023.
The Toronto 2017 Games saw 17 nations take part in 11 sports. The hosts Canada finished third on the medal table, winning 18 golds, 17 silvers and 13 bronzes for a total of 48 medals — a long way back of the United States’ leading 134 total medals.
In 2027 the competition will take place in Birmingham, England.
550 competitors from 20+ nations
Around 550 competitors are expected to compete, representing a record 23 nations. In addition to those national teams, there are also Unconquered — the English translation of the Latin word Invictus — teams.
Unconquered teams are made up of athletes from several nations, as they join up to compete in team events when nations may not have enough athletes to form an entire squad. There is also a team called Afghan Unconquered for the first time, made up of Afghan veterans who have resettled across Australia and the United States following the 2021 Kabul evacuation.
Lithuania and Brazil will be also be competing for the first time.
56 athletes will represent Team Canada
Team Canada will be made up of 56 athletes. The group was announced in July 2024 at CFB Kingston and features 22 serving members of the Canadian Armed Forces and 34 veterans.
The chance to compete at home is one that the athletes are looking forward to, as their compatriots got to do in Toronto eight years ago.
“I’m so excited,” said Theresa Weitemeyer, who will compete in skeleton, Alpine skiing and wheelchair rugby. “I’m actually home grown from B.C. so I’m excited at getting to share with my teammates as well as the world at large, the beautiful province that we have there.”
11 sports, including 6 winter sports for the first time
For the first time, the Invictus Games will feature winter events as part of the sporting program.
There will be eleven sports in total, including six winter sports: Alpine skiing, snowboarding, biathlon, cross-country skiing, skeleton and wheelchair curling. Also on the schedule are indoor rowing, sitting volleyball, swimming, wheelchair basketball and wheelchair rugby.
Individual athletes may compete in multiple sports, but there is a maximum of eight for any one competitor.
8 venues will host events
There will be eight venues taking centre stage across the eleven sports, many of which were used 15 years ago for the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics and Paralympics.
The Vancouver Convention Centre will host wheelchair rugby and wheelchair basketball, as well as indoor rowing and sitting volleyball. The Hillcrest Centre will host wheelchair curling, while UBC Aquatics Centre will host swimming.
On the snow, Whistler Blackcomb is the site of the alpine skiing and snowboarding events, while Whistler Olympic Park will host the cross country skiing and biathlon events. Whistler Sliding Centre will be home to the skeleton competition, the only sliding event of the games.
BC Place will host the opening ceremony, while Rogers Arena hosts the closing ceremony.
1,600 Games-times volunteers
Major events like this always require a large workforce, often in the form of volunteers, and the 2025 Invictus Games are no different. Approximately 1,600 volunteers are expected to help make things run smoothly throughout the event, and assist with things like athlete and fan experience.
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