This year's opening ceremony for the Invictus Games will have no shortage of celebrities, splendor and military fanfare, but at its core is the celebration of wounded warriors, their families and caregivers.
Air Force Master Sgt. Israel "DT" Del Toro Jr. will take the stage to recognize the importance of family and friends in his road to recovery, sharing the story of his journey following his injuries in Afghanistan from an improvised explosive device that burned more than 80 percent of his body, recognizing the importance of family and friends in his road to recovery.
British Marine Lance Cpl. John-James "JJ" Chalmers, also injured by an IED in Afghanistan, will share his story, along with his comrade Louis Nethercott, focusing on the critical need for those with post-traumatic stress to reach out and seek help.
Singers James Blunt and Laura Wright will perform, and Prince Harry and First Lady Michelle Obama are expected to be involved in the ceremony, which starts at 8 p.m. May 8 at Champion Stadium at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex's Champion Stadium at Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando. It will be broadcast live on ESPN2.
The Invictus Games were conceived by Prince Harry when he visited the U.S. Warrior Games in 2013. The next year, London hosted the inaugural Invictus Games, an international sporting event for wounded, injured and sick service members.
This ceremony is on a much more impressive scale than the 2014 Invictus Games opening ceremony in London, said Sara Donaldson, who is co-executive producer/creative director with Christopher Laue. "It reflects the growth of the Invictus Games," she said.
The theme of the ceremony reflects the underlying themes of the entire Invictus Games week. That weeklong theme "is more about the military family, not just the injured service member, but the entire unit," said Ken Fisher, chairman and CEO of the Fisher House Foundation and chairman of the Invictus Games organizing committee. "It's also a celebration of the recovery of the injured warriors, and the family's impact on the recovery ...
"It's a celebration that they're not injured vets any more. They are competitors."
Some aspects of the extensive military involvement in the ceremony are being kept secret until the actual event, but the U.S. Army Herald Trumpets, the U.S. Army Band, the Army Old Guard Fife and Drum Corps, and the Marine Corps Silent Drill Platoon will perform. As the Herald Trumpets and the Army Band play "… and the home of the brave" in the national anthem, two Navy F/A 18C Hornet fighter jets will fly over the theater. Army helicopters will participate in a key part of the ceremony.
The finale of the opener will be a performance of the "Invictus" anthem, performed by a chorus of 250 singers — all U.S. active duty, Guard or reserve, retired or veterans. The nonprofit Center for American Military Music Opportunities (CAMMO) has auditioned and assembled the chorus.
Artist's rendering of the expected opening ceremony May 8 of the Invictus Games.
Photo Credit: Donaldson Creative and continuumLIVE
The theater itself will be a transformed baseball field, overdressed with a stage and numerous features. Wounded warriors, their families and friends will be seated in front of the stage.
Donaldson and Laue have extensive experience with orchestrating high-profile events, but this is one of the most meaningful for them, said Laue. "Working with wounded warriors has had a huge impact on us," which he hopes to convey through the ceremony, he said, adding that he hopes to convey that with the moving ceremony planned.
Classical artist Laura Wright will perform the song "Invincible," which she composed wrote for the 2014 inaugural Invictus Games. She’ll be accompanied by a 20-person chorus from the U.S. military.
Blunt, who was an active-duty officer in the British Army, will perform for about 30 minutes. Among his hit singles is "You're Beautiful." His albums include "All the Lost Souls," "Some Kind of Trouble" and "Moon Landing." Blunt also does tours for the troops with the British Forces Foundation.
All the artists are performing at the opening ceremony for free.
The Fisher House Foundation is a sponsor of the Invictus Games and has always been a sponsor of the Warrior Games. "These men and women are unconquerable and will allow nothing to stop them," Fisher said.
"Even though there's a lot of camaraderie, don't think for a minute it's not competition," he said. "There's a great deal of national pride."
"Wheelchair rugby is something everybody needs to see," he said, then ticked off a list of other adaptive sporting events, such as tennis.
After the first games he attended, even after 20 years of his work with wounded, ill and injured warriors through the Fisher House Foundation, he said, "I actually walked away changed."
For information on buying tickets, visit the Invictus Games site.
Karen Jowers covers military families, quality of life and consumer issues for Military Times. She can be reached at kjowers@militarytimes.com.
Karen has covered military families, quality of life and consumer issues for Military Times for more than 30 years, and is co-author of a chapter on media coverage of military families in the book "A Battle Plan for Supporting Military Families." She previously worked for newspapers in Guam, Norfolk, Jacksonville, Fla., and Athens, Ga.
