In one of the most moving moments of the Games, U.S. athletes stood and showed their love for their Canadian comrades in arms after they were met with a smattering of boos during the opening ceremonies’ parade of nations. [Stephen J. Thorne]

The Invictus Games aren’t about medal counts, country pride or, least of all, politics. There are no national anthems sung at opening or closing ceremonies, nor at any medal presentations or victory parties.

And, so, what occurred at the conclusion of the joyous parade of nations that opened the seventh iteration of the Invictus Games at BC Place in Vancouver, coming when it did at a time of great tension between Canada and its neighbour and friend to the south, was all the more interesting.

The last three teams to enter the stadium ahead of the host nation were those of Ukraine, the United Kingdom and the United States.

Ukraine, whose continuing war with Russia was evident all over the fields of play in the form of amputations and other wounds (Canada is home to the world’s third-largest population of Ukrainian heritage, after Ukraine and Russia). The United Kingdom, one of Canada’s two founding nations (France was ninth in the order of parade).

And the United States, Canada’s longtime friend and ally whose current president has begun imposing crippling tariffs on Canadian imports and says he wants to make Canada the 51st state.

The ovation for Ukraine was thunderous. So, too, was that for the U.K. But as the United States team was introduced, the reception turned tepid. There were cheers, yes, but overall, the response was uncomfortably muted. There was even a smattering of boos rippling through the crowd of 40,000 that mercifully ended when Canada, the host nation, was the last to be introduced.

Katy Perry on point. [Stephen J. Thorne]

Turning and speaking directly to the U.S. athletes toward the end of a four-and-a-half-minute speech, Eby said to chuckles, “I know our countries are having a moment right now, right?” 

“But there is not a person here, there is not a Canadian that does not know that our soldiers have fought and died and cried and celebrated beside Americans for generations,” he added to a rousing ovation. At this point, some American athletes had turned toward their Canadian counterparts across the aisle and started making hearts with their hands over their heads. 

“And I’ll tell you as a politician, that it doesn’t matter what the politicians say.” 

More cheers. Now, the Americans were rising to their feet, more and more of them, making hearts with their hands over their heads. The Canadians shot to their feet, and made the sign of love right back.

The crowd was by now at a roar. Not a boo in the house. Eby could’ve stopped there. But he continued. 

“Because if you need us, you just say the word, USA. And you know what? If we ever need you, and it came down to it, I know you’d be there in a second. God bless USA. God bless Canada. God bless all of you!” 

The crowd was roaring. Doubtless there were a few moist eyes in the house. 

It was a moment, all right. 

Prince Harry is always at home with the athletes. [Stephen J. Thorne]

Harry served 10 years in the British army, including a tour in Afghanistan. He is at home with fellow veterans and serving soldiers. And they are at home with him. 

Founded by Prince Harry in 2014, the Invictus Games involve wounded warriors from multiple countries, all sharing the common bonds of service and sacrifice in war and disaster zones.

Canada became the first country to host two, with Vancouver-Whistler 2025 coming almost eight years after Toronto in 2017, shortly before Harry and Meghan announced their engagement.

This year’s version involved 23 countries and more than 500 athletes. It was the first with adaptive winter sports—alpine and cross-country skiing, biathlon, snowboarding, wheelchair curling, and skeleton, the high-speed sliding event in which competitors (in this case, novice ones) hit speeds close to 100 kilometres an hour on a mountainside ice track. 

These, in addition to some of the most popular events of past Invictus Games—wheelchair basketball, seated volleyball, swimming, indoor rowing and, that most popular of all, wheelchair rugby, known to its adherents as murderball. 

Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, share a laugh with a child at the games. [Stephen J. Thorne]

Harry served 10 years in the British army, including a tour in Afghanistan. He is at home with fellow veterans and serving soldiers. And they are at home with him. 

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex made regular appearances at Vancouver-Whistler events. They were warm, outgoing and gracious. They both seemed to light up around children. 

Hyeongyoon Na of South Korea, who lost both forearms to an electric fence at the North Korean border, competes in the 50m freestyle. [Stephen J. Thorne]

Hyeongyoon Na knows this only too well. He lost parts of both arms to an electric fence at the North Korean border.

With continuing conflict, Ukraine, Israel, South Korea and Brazil (internal strife, apparently) appeared to have had the highest proportions of amputees among any teams out there. 

Ukraine has been at war with Russia since 2014; the fighting has intensified since Russian forces invaded on Feb. 24, 2022. Israel’s war with Hamas continues, the future of Gaza a giant question mark. South Korea’s war with the North never ended; a 1953 armistice stopped the fighting, but no peace treaty was ever reached. 

Hyeongyoon Na knows this only too well. He lost parts of both arms to an electric fence at the North Korean border. Nevertheless, he was in Vancouver where he swam two events and had himself literally chained to a machine for the indoor rowing events. 

Heongyoon Na of South Korea competed in swimming and the IR3 four-minute endurance rowing race. [Stephen J. Thorne]

And James Cairns, a wheelchair baller, swimmer and biathlete who lost his lower leg to a sniper while serving with the British Royal Yorkshire Regiment in Afghanistan. Cairns took a knee and proposed to girlfriend Hannah Wild at centre court after the U.K.’s wheelchair basketball opener versus Colombia. Britain lost the game, but James won her heart. She said yes.

James Cairns, who lost his lower leg to a sniper while serving with the British Royal Yorks in Afghanistan, proposed to girlfriend Hannah Wild after the U.K. team’s wheelchair basketball game versus Colombia. Britain lost the game but Cairns won her heart. She said yes. [Stephen J. Thorne]

“If you ever hear that voice in your head saying you can’t be anything but great, it’s the voice of a liar!”

The opening and closing ceremonies featured some great acts, but none made a bigger impression, so to speak, than the outsized Jelly Roll, who thanked organizers for “letting me bring my form of therapeutic music here tonight to serve those who have served us across the world.” 

Circulating among the athletes on the floor before taking the stage on the final night, he opened with a particularly poignant ballad, “I Am Not Okay.”

I am not okay/I’m barely getting by/I’m losing track of days/And losing sleep at night 

“I want to be clear right now about what’s happening on this stage,” he said as he took it. “I am an overweight man with a microphone. The real heroes are the athletes and the families that are in this building right now, and I want you to know, whenever you go home after these 11 days of adrenaline and you finally sit down and in a few months from now when the world finally comes back around, I want you to know this. 

“If you ever hear that voice in your head saying you can’t be anything but great, it’s the voice of a liar!” And, with that, he sang his song “Liar,” which is about that voice in your head telling you that you should do what you know you shouldn’t.

Jelly Roll’s inspirational music proved the most poignant entertainment of either the opening or closing ceremonies. [Stephen J. Thorne]

I, I let you drive around my mind/I can’t count the times you made me feel like I’m nothin’/Played me like a fool, like a fool/Saying, “Drink another whiskey/Pop another pill/Money makes you happy/Heaven isn’t real/You won’t find nobody to love/Because your heart’s too broke”/Now I know/You nothin’ but a liar

His message was clear. And it went over well.

“It’s about perseverance in the face of adversity. It’s about the strength, the resilience of the human spirit.”

The next Invictus Games are slated for Birmingham, U.K., in 2027.

The Invictus flag was handed off at the closing and will be delivered by a Royal Canadian Navy ship to the Royal Navy in Britain before it joins Carrier Strike Group 25, which will travel the world visiting numerous countries with the Invictus message of resilience, strength and unity. 

“The Invictus Games is about more than competition,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told the closing. “It’s about perseverance in the face of adversity. It’s about the strength, the resilience of the human spirit. And it’s about not letting an injury, whether it be physical or mental, define who you are or what you can accomplish. 

“It’s about inspiring your fellow veterans, your fellow compatriots, who have or are putting their lives on the line to defend our values, our liberty, our freedom. It’s about all of you.” 

He had a special message for the Ukrainian athletes, thanking them for defending their homeland as well as the democracies and principles “that protect all of us.” 

“We will be with you every step of the way until victory,” he pledged. 

He spoke directly to the Afghan Unconquered team attending the Games, made up of wounded, injured and sick Afghan veterans who have resettled across Australia and the United States following the 2021 Kabul evacuation. Just one was apparently in the crowd to hear Trudeau as he told them their commitment remains an inspiration. 

And to the Americans, he said: “We’ve stood together for generations and Canada and Canadians will never stop fighting for the friendship that unites our two countries through tough times… Americans are our friends, always! And we are yours.”