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THE INVICTUS GAMES ARE MORE THAN "JUST" AN INTERNATIONAL SPORTS FESTIVAL


INVICTUS GAMES DÜSSELDORF 2023

A HOME FOR RESPECT

The Invictus Games Düsseldorf 2023 marked the first time that Germany hosted the world's largest sporting event for wounded, injured and sick soldiers. Over 500 athletes from 21 nations competed in ten sports, sending a powerful message of resilience, team spirit and respect. Organised by D.LIVE in cooperation with the German Armed Forces, the Games transformed the MERKUR SPIEL-ARENA and the PSD Bank Dome into places of encounter and inspiration. This unique experience gave rise to Invictus Germany – a movement that carries the spirit of the Games into society in a sustainable way with festivals, awards and other projects. 


INVICTUS GAMES

The Invictus Games Düsseldorf 2023 were a unique sporting event, held in Germany for the first time and bringing together people from all over the world in the capital of North Rhine-Westphalia. Under the motto ‘A Home for Respect’, the Games became a place of encounter, recognition and respect – for the competitors, their families, the veteran community and society as a whole.

 

From 9 to 16 September 2023, over 500 wounded, injured and sick soldiers from 21 nations took part in ten sports. They competed in disciplines such as athletics, swimming, wheelchair basketball, sitting volleyball and indoor rowing, demonstrating not only top athletic performance, but above all extraordinary willpower, team spirit and joie de vivre.

 

The games were organised in close cooperation between D.LIVE and the German Armed Forces. The venues were the MERKUR SPIEL-ARENA and the adjacent Arena-Sportpark, which became the centre of an international sports and social festival for a week. The games were accompanied by a large cultural and supporting programme, which gave the public the opportunity to experience the competitors up close and learn about their stories. 

 

A special moment was the emotional opening ceremony, during which Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, emphasised the significance of the Games and welcomed the competitors. The closing ceremony also sent a strong message of solidarity and mutual respect.

 

The Invictus Games Düsseldorf 2023 have left a lasting mark – not only in Düsseldorf, but throughout Germany. They have shown that sport can build bridges: between veterans and civil society, between nations, between people with and without disabilities.

 

This experience gave rise to Invictus Germany – an initiative that continues to promote the values and spirit of the Games in the long term. With the Invictus Germany Sports Festival (first held in 2024), the Invictus Germany Awards (since 2025) and other projects, the idea behind the Games is being continued: to bring the issue of veterans and soldiers injured in action permanently into the centre of society. 

 

The Invictus Games Düsseldorf 2023 thus form the origin of a movement that goes far beyond a week of sport. They are the foundation for everything that is lived today and in the future under the name Invictus Germany.