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Prince Harry's Invictus Games just announced its new home for the 2029 games.
The Duke of Sussex confirmed that the international sports competition for wounded, injured, and sick veterans is coming to Asia for the first time, with the 2029 games to be held in South Korea. The move was announced on Monday, July 20, just a few days after the 41-year-old traveled to the UK to kick off the official one-year countdown to the 2027 Invictus Games in Birmingham.
This comes after Prince Harry called out an audience member and used an expletive in a Fox interview.
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In a statement, Prince Harry said, "Today's announcement is a defining moment for the Invictus Movement. We are delighted to announce Daejeon, South Korea, as the host of the 2029 Invictus Games, and, on behalf of the Invictus Games Foundation, we are so excited to work together."
The 2029 games will be held in Daejeon following the 2027 games in Birmingham.
Invictus Games Foundation Chair Lord Charles Allen stated, "As the first Asian nation selected to host the Games, the Republic of Korea represents an exciting new chapter in our journey to ensure that more wounded, injured and sick service personnel and veterans can benefit from the power of sport and the strength of the Invictus community."
Korea was in the running to host the event alongside San Diego, California, on the shortlist. The event is set to run from October 6 to 15, 2029, with 12 sports and 550 competitors from 26 nations participating in the games.
Former competitor Na Hyeong-yoon, who appeared in the Netflix series Heart of Invictus, said in a statement, "I have always believed that the greatest barrier is not disability itself, but the way society perceives it. Through the Invictus Games, I have seen that those perceptions can change."
Hyeong-yoon continued, "Now, in 2029, it will be Korea's turn to lead that change. I hope the Invictus Games in Daejeon will showcase the strength, potential, and pride of our wounded service personnel and veterans and become a turning point in transforming how our society sees them."
Prince Harry founded the Invictus Games in 2014, inspired by a visit to the U.S. Warrior Games, with the first Invictus Games held in London in September 2014. They have previously been held in Orlando, Toronto, Sydney, The Hague, Düsseldorf, and Vancouver-Whistler.
The former Royal and his wife, American actress Meghan Markle, made their public debut as a couple during the 2017 games in Toronto, where she was living when they were first introduced.
"There is nowhere you can feel more embraced and supported than with the Invictus family," Prince Harry told PEOPLE in 2022.
"The Toronto Games were our first time out and about publicly in an official way. We were dating at the time, so it was a lot to take in, but fortunately, we were with the perfect community for that."
Harry recently traveled to the UK to kick off the one-year countdown to the 2027 games in Birmingham, briefly reuniting with his estranged father King Charles III as Meghan and their two children joined him on the trip.
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