00:00Thank you to Time and Sean for that introduction. In this room full of champions, I have to assume that
00:10I've been invited on stage to receive the participation medal, and given the company, I'll happily take it.
00:17In all seriousness, it is truly an honour to be here tonight to celebrate the power of sport. And I
00:25don't just mean the big wins and the historic moments. I mean the tough losses, the sacrifices, the moments that
00:34no one ever sees.
00:36Sport is where you first felt the essence of teamwork and community. It shaped your discipline, your drive, and your
00:46very identity. It taught you to revel in the challenges and the joy of overcoming or defying the odds.
00:55And for many of you, sport shaped who you became. For me, sport instilled essential core values from a very
01:04young age. But it didn't shape my identity as a young man. The British Army did.
01:11When I hung out my uniform, I felt like I'd lost not just my profession, but a part of my
01:18purpose too.
01:21During both combat tours of Afghanistan, I witnessed first-hand the human cost of conflict. Once from the ground, and
01:29once from the air.
01:31But what I didn't fully anticipate was the sheer number of life-changing visible and invisible wounds that would impact
01:40my brothers and sisters in arms, as well as their families.
01:44And it wasn't until 2013 in Colorado Springs, when I visited the Warrior Games, and watched American-oriented service members
01:54compete, that I realised something remarkable.
01:59I didn't just see recovery, I saw possibility. I saw individuals develop an unshakable resolve that what happened to them
02:08will not be the end of their story.
02:12Many of those competing had never considered themselves athletes before. Many had never tried their chosen sport before, let alone
02:21using it for recovery.
02:23And yet in the arena, sport wasn't simply rebuilding strength, it was restoring confidence, purpose, identity, and connection.
02:36That's when I realised something profound. Sport isn't just entertainment and competition. Sport is medicine.
02:47It reaches places that surgery cannot, therapies sometimes struggle to, and words often never will.
02:57The challenge is the body. The challenge is the body, focus is the mind, and gives people permission to believe
03:03that what once seemed impossible, may seem to still be within reach.
03:10And in doing so, it helps whole families heal too. It's a reminder to all of us that the comeback
03:18is better than the setback.
03:22Now, I left Colorado convinced that our wounded service personnel and veterans around the world deserve the same opportunity.
03:30And that conviction became the Invictus Games.
03:33And over the last decade, we have watched Invictus grow into a profound global movement, bringing together competitors from 26
03:41nations and 550 wounded, injured, and sick service personnel and veterans at each Games every two years.
03:49That's it!
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