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| Prince Harry's Invictus Games opening ceremony under way | Prince Harry's Invictus Games opening ceremony under way |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| The opening ceremony for the Invictus Games is under way at the Olympic Park in London. | |
| The Games, organised by Prince Harry, are a sporting competition for wounded servicemen and women from 13 countries. | The Games, organised by Prince Harry, are a sporting competition for wounded servicemen and women from 13 countries. |
| The Prince of Wales, the Duchess of Cornwall and the Duke of Cambridge are attending along with 6,500 spectators. | |
| US First Lady Michelle Obama recorded a special message for the ceremony before introducing Prince Harry, who spoke of his own experiences in the military. | |
| The event began with a shortened version of God Save the Queen, followed by the Invictus fanfare and a flypast by the Red Arrows. | The event began with a shortened version of God Save the Queen, followed by the Invictus fanfare and a flypast by the Red Arrows. |
| The actor Idris Elba read the poem Invictus by William Ernest Henley, before the teams emerged to cheers from the crowd. | |
| The 13 nations appeared in alphabetical order, led by athletes from Afghanistan and culminating in the appearance of the host team from the UK. | |
| The Duchess of Cambridge was forced to miss the ceremony because she is suffering from acute morning sickness. | |
| More than 400 competitors, both serving military personnel and veterans, will go head to head in nine adaptive sports at the Olympic Park and Lee Valley Athletics Centre in London over four days from Thursday. | |
| The countries sending teams were: Afghanistan, Australia, Canada, Denmark, Estonia, France, Italy, Georgia, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand and the US. | |
| Invictus Games chairman Sir Keith Mills told the ceremony: "Over the next few days we will experience some fantastic sport from some of the extraordinary competitors you see this evening. | |
| "I am sure you will all join me in wishing them the very best of luck." | |
| Inspiration | |
| He added: "When Prince Harry conceived the Invictus Games he hoped they would be an inspiration for all of those that have been wounded, injured and sick while serving their countries. | |
| "I have no doubt that these games will achieve that and much more." | |
| On Tuesday at a "curtain raiser" event for the Games, Prince Harry had said he was "starting to feel old" ahead of his 30th birthday next week. | On Tuesday at a "curtain raiser" event for the Games, Prince Harry had said he was "starting to feel old" ahead of his 30th birthday next week. |
| But the prince, who turns 30 on 15 September, also said he sees himself as "always young at heart". | But the prince, who turns 30 on 15 September, also said he sees himself as "always young at heart". |
| He made the remarks at the Jaguar Land Rover site in Gaydon, Warwickshire, where a driving challenge event was taking place as a precursor to the games. | He made the remarks at the Jaguar Land Rover site in Gaydon, Warwickshire, where a driving challenge event was taking place as a precursor to the games. |
| After handing out medals to competitors from Australia, Germany and Holland he said he would probably be celebrating his birthday by getting involved in the Invictus Games in some way. | After handing out medals to competitors from Australia, Germany and Holland he said he would probably be celebrating his birthday by getting involved in the Invictus Games in some way. |
| Prince Harry admitted he had had some "sleepless nights" in the run-up to the games, which are his brainchild and based on the Warrior Games in the US. | |
| "The Americans made it, I stole it, and we made it bigger," he said. | "The Americans made it, I stole it, and we made it bigger," he said. |