Invictus Games Opening Ceremony The One Show

celebrate and celebrate the amazing achievements of these athletes. The

Royals are taking their seat. Iwan why are you excited? I'm buzzing to

be back here at the Queen Elizabeth Park. What a great opportunity for

our Servicemen and women. They have done us proud as an nation. It will

be brilliant. It looks as if everybody is now in position and the

Opening Ceremony can begin with the National Anthem.

The short version of the National Anthem, now the Invictus fanfare.

RED ARROWS:. Incredible. You can see the trails of smoke. It's a hoax you

will never ever forget. Dan, a beautiful sight? Extraordinary. I

love it. The timing perfect of course. The British Armed Forces

always get it right. How do these Games work then? We know there are

13 countries competing. Over four days. What are we expecting? Nine

different events. 416 athletes, athletics, archery, swimming, road

cycling, wheelchair rugby, wheelchair basketball, powerlifting

and indoor rowing. Everyone competing must have served in the

army, Navy or the Air Force. They have different levels of injury, I

don't like to say disability. It's about the ability they have got, not

what they can do. They think, I have been inI spired by 2012 I will get

out there and toy Maeve proud. They have been injured during service

time. Some have been affected by illnesses. Athletes here have had

cancer or multiple sclerosis, things have happened to them while serving.

They have had to have served in Afghanistan and Iraq together. They

have been invited to compete. You hear so many stories of grit and

determination from the Services. There are

determination from the Services. or 10. As you are a viewer of the

One Show, we have a little gift. We have a cake for you. Thank you very

much. Happy birthday. All the very best with it, Harry. Thank you,

very, very much. We wish you all the best. It's really heavy. Something

to keep you going. I know who will eat this. Not George! He is really

lovely, isn't he? Down-to-earth. Harry will make a speech before the

end of the Opening Ceremony we will hear from Michelle Obama, the First

Lady. Plenty still to come this evening. Let us look at the medals

here. This is what is on offer here at the Games. They have been

designed by an injured servicemen, Harry Parker. There is an

interesting quote from a very important poem, "I am the master of

my faith"? It's part of the inspiration of these games. Invictus

was a poem written by William Ernest Henley. He wrote this beautiful poem

Invictus which means unconquered. Ed it has comes to articulate all the

trials and tribulations, all the slings and arrows nature throws at

you. It has inspired political leaders, Nelson Mandela used to

quote it to his fellow prisoners and Barack Obama used it as part of his

funeral speech for Nelson Mandela as well. It ends, "I'm the master of my

fate, I'm the captain of my soul" it sums up the journey that all the

people here have been on. It's a new chapter in many of theirs lives. You

have plans for your life, suddenly one of these horrendous incidents

happen and you go - what do I do for my life? Sport can help you refocus?

It does. You can imagine them looking down in bed with their limbs

gone, what can I do. Here they are putting on a Great Britain vest

competing for their country and making the best out of a bad

situation. Every Paralympian or serviceman you speak to don't dwell

on what happens. Derek lost both legs, he says - it's just a scratch,

I got away. He has a second chance. Their hearts will be pumping. The

action starts tomorrow. I think it's brilliant for them to get the

opportunity. Matt, pointing at the medals earlier, they are beautiful.

What chances are there of Team GB sweeping the board? Harry seemed

confident. If you see your team-mates come back with a medal,

it makes it real. You go - can I look at your medal. The athlete will

think - I trained as hard as they have. He has done it, why can't I.

The home advantage will help. If we can get off to a good start,

confidence will be high. Absolutely. Idris Elba has made some entrances

on stage in his time. This is quite something. He played Nelson Mandela

and he is about to recite the poem, Invictus. There he goes up to the

podium. Out of the night that covers me,

Black as the Pit from pole to pole, I thank whatever gods may be

For my unconquerable soul. In the fell clutch of circumstance

I have not winced nor cried aloud. Under the bludgeonings of chance

my head is bloody, but unbowed. Beyond this place of wrath and tears

looms the horror of the shade, And yet the menace of the years

finds, and shall find, me unafraid. It matters not how strait the gate,

how charged with punishments the scroll.

I am the master of my fate: Being a Royal Marine Commando is the

greatest thing in the world. I'd convinced all my family that the job

I'm doing is probably the safest job in the battlefield. I loved it. I

loved it. One in eight were getting killed or

injured. But actually you look at it and you go there's a seven in eight

chance I'll be alright. I'll take those odds! Bang, that was it. I

thought, yeah, they have got me, I'm a gonna.

I was blown up by an IED. Severely injured my left arm and left leg. My

right leg was blown apart. Left frontal lobe, brain damage. I lost

both of my legs above the knee. Bullet went in here and out here.

Damaged my whole eye socket. Died twice on the evacuating helicopter.

The idea came from Colorado Springs, the power of sport in rehabilitation

is outstanding and the Warrior Games hit home to me. I spoke to some of

these guys who said the first time they have ever tried swimming, but

every time they jump in that pool, all their worries, it is like a

clean slate. That is when I realised, you know what, a

multi-sport international event for these men and women is what they

need. Go! When you are injured, you are having

to learn how to put your socks on, or you are having to learn how to

cook food again, they are not things you chose to do. They have been

forced upon you. Whereas, cycling was something that I chose to do. I

rediscovered the chemical goodness of what exercise is and all that

great stuff that it releases around you, but also the excitement and the

drive it gives you when you are doing it to a standard where you

realise, you know, I can compete in this and I have a reason to push

myself again. It is a fire that's been relit in my life.

Personally, I think the psychological side was the harder

one for me. Injuries, which people can't see, are sometimes worse. In

the early days, it was pretty bad. You end up going down this spiral,

the depression - it is dark and quite dangerous. Not good.

You try and not make a big deal out of it, when, really, it is tearing

you up inside. Sport really played a massive part

in getting me out of that rut and breaking that cycle and bringing me

back up that spiral. I wasn't fully aware there was a huge part of me

still missing and that huge part was the part that the Marines gave me.

It is the extraordinary experience you have with the people you share

it with that make you sort of invincible to change. This is

massive now. It's gone from a small bunch of guys, to nations competing

against each other. The Americans are the ones we want to beat! There

is no such word as "can't" anymore. Disability proves that to you, it

makes you do it. There is nothing worse than somebody saying you can't

do something. Especially to a Marine because they will go, "OK, watch

this!" EDDIE BUTLER: Those who can, those

who say "I am" will make their entrance pretty soon. First, we are

going to have a Parade of the Services. It will led by the Naval

contingent, personnel drawn from across the Navy, sailors and

submariners. The men of the Grenadier Guards and behind them,

the Queen's Colour Squadron of the Royal Air Force.

The Red Coats of the Grenadier Guards. It was the old fighting

uniform, thickly made. It was less likely to cause infection on the

battlefields. The Queen's Colour Squadron, a

fully-capable combat unit, who have been deployed on operations to Iraq

and Afghanistan. And the job of the Colour Squadron

has been to guard the Queen's Colour of the Royal Air Force.

Top of the screen, the athletes of the 13 nations here at the Invictus

Games wait to come into the arena. Afghanistan lead the way - six

athletes representing the Afghan Armed Forces.

Behind Afghanistan come Australia. 36 serving and former members of the

Australian Navy, Army and Air Force are here competing. The team captain

is Curtis McGrath, who lost both legs in an IED in Afghanistan two

years ago. Two years later on, this year, he's just set a world record

in the Canoe Sprint World Championships in Moscow.

158 Canadian soldiers died in Afghanistan. And over 2,000 were

wounded. Alongside me is Clare.

CLARE BALDING: The flag carriers are all members of the cadets from

across Greater London, so they have a role to play as well in the

ceremonial side of things. The Danish team there looking

enthusiastic. I think there is a real feeling here of joy, the joy of

competition. Which contrasts with what they have

been through. There are the obvious signs of injuries and wounds from

the battlefield, but also there are people who have been through

sickness and illness, and mental trauma, too. Many of them talking

about those mental scars being deeper than the physical scars.

Estonia are followed by France, the French flag there. They have a team

of 18. The Georgian team - six wounded

veterans. Just about all of them began their sports as a direct

result of these Invictus Games. Behind Georgia, the flag of Germany.

21 athletes from the German Armed Forces.

I should mention Italy and the Netherlands also. And behind the

Germans we will see - we will see in a moment - Italy.

The Italians, specialists, they say, in archery and swimming. You can see

there the pride and the relief, in a way, of Prince Harry. For him, this

has been a huge pressure, organising a major event, hoping people will

buy tickets, hoping everything will go through smoothly. To see this

parade of athletes is a massively proud moment for him. The Prince of

Wales is patron of Combat Stress and he said, "We have a profound and

essential duty to care for those who carry the invisible scars of

conflict." There, the motto "I am" from the middle of "I am Invictus"

or "Invictus Games" actually. New Zealand.

New Zealand will be particularly strong at wheelchair rugby, I

suspect. They say the All Blacks are their inspiration. A huge cheer for

Team USA. It is the Warrior Games of the USA that inspired Prince Harry

to launch these Invictus Games in London.

They have the second largest team - 98 athletes in the USA team, beaten

only by the team from the Host Nation, Great Britain, who will be

coming in last. To give you an idea of the scale of the long conflict in

Afghanistan, over 100,000 US military personnel have been

diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.

The biggest cheer for the team of the United Kingdom. 130 serving and

retired servicemen and women make up the British Armed Forces team for

these Invictus Games. It is the largest-ever British military sports

team. The fly-past by the helicopters, the Apache helicopter.

673 Squadron, it is the Army Air Corps, the Apache, and the RAF has

the Merlin behind it. It is quite a poignant moment for the Merlin. It

is led by Pip Harding and this is his final sortee on the Merlin. As

they fly above us, the ground shudders. There is the mascot for

the United Kingdom team, that is a labrador called Fire. She is, or

was, an IED detection dog. I will be speaking to the man who takes care

of her in a moment or two. We will be hearing from the UK

captain Dave Henson later. A great reception for the team led by Fire.

It was interesting watching the documentary the other night, how

much they talked about the camaraderie being back in a team,

about how important it was to feel that they were achieving something

and pushing themselves beyond their limits and that there would be no

self-pity and they didn't expect pity from anybody else. This is

about being the strongest they can be. It is about doing the best they

can do. It is about being part of a team.

Having come through the rehabilitation process their

competitive spirit has been triggered. They are serious, serious

sporting people now. The Queen's Colour Squadron will

make a little room in the arena, followed the Grenadier Guards and

the Royal Navy. There is just a require am to Empey some space in

the arena because we are going to have two demonstrations. -- Empey.

Empty. If I AM" is" The theme tonight, it will be spelt out very

clearly for one and all to see. The Service Band also splits into

two. The Royal Marine Band Collingwood. And the Band of the

Irish Guards. They go off at one end. Meanwhile, the RAF come down

bottom left. They have more to play. Here come the cadet force, 17,000

cadets of the three services within the M25 alone.

APPLAUS There we are I AM" " are the words. Have we ever seen such an

inspiring parade. Prince Harry looking very proud. When the

helicopters came over the studio it was vibrating. To see it come

together so well. Everybody seems so proud. That is the point. To see the

faces of those individuals that have given so much for their country.

Now, we get the chance to show our appreciation for everything that

they have given really. It really is incredibly emotional. Dan, over the

next few days we will see various examples of military life. There is

a very important ceremony that will take place tomorrow? Of course, in

many ways what we are celebrating here is people that have survived,

carrying terrible emotional and physical scars, they survived. Lots

of their comrades didn't. Tomorrow we will have a ceremony to remember

those who didn't make it. Who aren't here. This is the Drumhead? In the

old days they pile up the drums, make a make-shift alar, where ever

the British forces were, there you go. Pictures of here. A

commemoration to remember the fallen. Tomorrow is the 13th

anniversary of 9/11. That event has led to such conflict around the

world. It's a particularly special day to remember that. It's on before

the Games. People should come early and watch what is a classic, British

military ceremony achl key part of British life. This is the thing.

Lots of people will sit at home wanting to come down to the Park to

experience the Games for themselves. Are there tickets available still?

Yes. Some are available for the team sports events, Friday, Saturday and

Sunday, for the morning session. If you buy a ticket for the family you

can come down and see more than one session. If you go to the website

all the information is there. Just come down. I think if, if anything,

tonight has shown us, and everyone at home, how important these games

are. Our chance to thank our servicemen and women for everything

they have done for this country. Some of those events will take place

at the Lee Valley Stadium? Yes and the Copper Box and the venues here.

Clare eluded to it. She is with somebody who played an important

role in the Athletes' Parade. I promised we would meet the mascot of

the UK Team. Here is Fire. Colonel Neil Smith, you are her protector.

What was her job? She was trained to work out in front of the infantry

and detect IEDs to stop people being killed and injured. How many dogs

work in the armed forces? 1,100 dogs across all the agencies. 350 have

served in Afghanistan over the last few years. She is now retired. If we

turn her around. You can see why. She had bad damage down this side.

You can see the scarring, what happened? In she was doing her job.

He was indicating on a device. It detonated. She was badly injured.

She was recovered back to Camp Bastion and looked after by the vets

and medical staff and evacuated back to the UK where she made an

excellent recovery. Dog owners will understand when I ask this question.

Do you think she is enjoying having a role this evening? I think she is.

When we arrived this afternoon, she was enthusiastic. She has a high

drive. It's somewhere new and exciting. She loves meeting people,

new smells, new places. And she has really enjoyed it. You can tell a

dog trained in the armed forces. Gunfire going off, she barely reacts

at all expect to become more alert, other than what is that, I'm into

protection mode Interested, but not frightened. I hope she enjoys her

retirement. An important role for Fire at the ceremony tonight. Thank

you. You are welcome. You thank you very Thank you, Clare much. . You

said the same about the gunfire and the dog. It goes to show how good

her rehab has been she is not stressed to be around everything

going on at the moment. Testament to those who have been part of her

recovery. Many of the competitors will have been through a similar

journey from injury to recovery. Behind them is a medical team who

can turn tragedy into hope. Every selfman and woman fighting for their

country the chance of returning home with life-changing injuries is an

all too real possibility. In 2009 my battalion was sent to Afghanistan.

Sangin was by far and away the most dangerous place in Afghanistan at

the time. We had a fire fight with the enemy. My vehicle struck an IED.

Both heals were smashed in the blast and my left arm was snapped in half.

The medical emergency response team came, you knew when you were on that

helicopter that you would be OK. After being admitted to the hospital

at Camp Bastion in Afghanistan, the surgical team were preparing for his

arrival at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham. We receive a

signal here advising us of the incident. We are then able to be

responsive. Soldiers injured in Afghanistan usually arrive back at

Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham, within 30 to 36-hours

from the time of injury. A long history of admitting military

personnel at this hospital, means it's now at the cutting-edge of

treating complex trauma injuries. I had some minor surgery done on my

left foot. Eight bolts and a plate. Unfortunately, infection kicked in.

March 30th, 2010, we amputated the left leg. It was definitely the

right decision. One of the best places for injured servicemen and

women to recover is here at a military rehabilitation centre in

Surrey called Headley Court. The service we provide here is different

to what you will find anywhere else, with it being a military

environment, people push themselves significantly harder. They are used

to being pushed to their ultimate levels. I was injured in Helmand

Province, Afghanistan. Unfortunately, we drove over and

initiated an IED. At the time, I suffered amputation of the lower

left leg. On return to Birmingham, Queen Elizabeth Hospital, we decided

to amputate the right one as well. Stu progressed well. He came in with

multiple injuries. Multiple amputations. He had a huge amount to

contend with. With the prosthetic legs there are techniques and

procedure you have to do. When you are going up the stairs, you need to

create a kind of left flick with the knee. It's quite difficult trying to

flick an imagery piece of paper under your foot to get the knee to

flick and raise it up to the next level. You have to be po potentially

more fit than you were pre-injury to get anywhere near the same function.

Sport has proved key in helping injured servicemen and women both

physically and mentally during their recovery. Both Stewart and Tony will

be representing the British team at the Invictus Games. I want to push

myself and push others to achieve everything that we can possibly

achieve. We will be back in the arena very shortly as the King's

Troop will be in there. Before that, we have two captains, captain of the

UK team and the USA team as well we have Captain David Henson and

Sergeant Major Chris Self. The last time we saw you Dave was six months

ago at the launch. You have been made Captain of Team GB, you will

lead us to victory. It is going to happen. Prince Harry was very

certain earlier on. Are you feeling the pressure? Yes. There is a lot of

pressure out here. The guys have worked hard to be here and so hard

over the last six months to get themselves fit and ready to compete.

At a high level of competition. Being in charge of them all, I

suppose, and responsible for leading it and keeping the morale up over

the course of the next four days is tough. The guys are ready. They do

it themselves. A proud moment for you, no doubt? Hugely proud. I have

been involved in the process for a year now. Emotional today. Prince

Harry was inspired by the Warrior Games, which you have competed at.

How many times have you been at the Warrior Games? Two years. How do you

think this will compare over here? Have you spent much time in Great

Britain? No, I have been to Great Britain before. This is my first

trip to London. OK. What do you make of it? Welcome. It's a great city.

You have, obviously, things that we can see that aren't in America. Like

thousand-year-old buildings. It's unique to the world. And how this

compares so far, this is huge. This is a very big event that Prince

Harry has put together in a short time period. It's just amazing the

support and the attention that we're getting. We have got a lot of faith,

as we said, in Team GB. We are a strong bunch. What are the chances

of Team USA getting some medals? Are you confident? So, I mean, it's good

that you are rooting for the home team... You should have confidence

in your home team. I will tell you that USA brought their A-game, just

like Team team Great Britain. You are in peak condition. As have the

athletes from the USA and the other countries. USA doesn't get used to

losing much. Fighting talk. Those people that saw the documentary the

other night. It's a remarkable story of yours. What do you hope to get

out of this personally? You said, didn't you, you put yourself under a

lot of pressure for the 200 m? Yeah, I really did. For me personally, I

want another personal best in the 200 m. I have worked so hard, me and

my coach, Roger, over the last 12 months to get to this stage ready to

compete at a high level. That, for me, in terms of competition, is all

that I want. I want to be able to go out and show how hard I've been

working. For me, the whole reason I got involved with these games in the

first place, from speaking to Prince Harry all those many months ago, is

to raise awareness of the long-term impact of these kind of injuries on

these servicemen and women's lives. It is serious. It needs someone to

talk out and be willing to push the stuff through. Hopefully, I can be

an example to them, if they will let me be it, and show them what can be

achieved. It's not easy to run with no knees and no ankles. Exactly.

Good luck to you both, as captains, we hope you lead your teams to

victory. Especially you, Dave! What is it like to look at these

pictures, the King's Troop are in the arena. What is it like seeing

the services come together for this event? Fantastic. I got here quite

early. I got to the Olympic Park at 5.00pm. I saw people turning up, the

public support. Everyone is wearing military kit. People are supporting

the guys. At one point I broke down in tears when I saw the Australian

families. Seeing the support that their husbands, wives are getting in

public. It it's sos emotional being here now and watching this delivery.

We will hand over to Eddie Butler in the commentary box to talk us

through what is going on here. EDDIE BUTLER: Bert leads the way

forward. Royal Salute, carry swords. Carry

swords. Cadets are on hand to disengage the

guns. And face them away from the Royal Party.

And the horses clear out of the way, too!

We replicate what went on 100 years ago. Arrive quickly, fire quickly,

and clear out quickly. Prince of Wales, the Duchess of

Cornwall enjoying the final gallop, up the arena, and away to safety.

Leaving Jonathan Edwards in the peace and calm. Even with the odd

hitch, nobody does pomp and ceremony like us! There are lots of special

people tonight, but the most important people are the athletes. I

have several with me. Captain Tony Harris, how proud were you to walk

out with the British team? Incredible. The support from the

public has been incredible. It is that support that allows us to go

and compete for our countries and make the most of what happened to

us. Sitting volleyball for you, excited? Absolutely. Prince Harry

has given me a great opportunity to hit people in the face with the

ball! The fact it could be the Aussies, it is even better! You are

competing for the Netherlands team. What is your strongest event?

Sitting volleyball. How important is it for the Netherlands and the Armed

Forces in the Netherlands to be here at the Invictus Games? It has been

very important to meet other countries and to share that with

family and friends. Tony, a quick word for Prince Harry. This is his

idea? Your Royal Highness, on behalf of all the nations, thank you so

much for giving us this opportunity. We really respect and appreciate it.

Thank you. Well said. Clare, over to you.

I'm sitting next to an ex-member of the Australian Royal Navy. It is an

honour to be here. Is this bigger and better than you anticipated? It

is more than I could have imagined. It is fantastic. Great to have you

here. A huge welcome from us. From Team USA, this is captain Sarah

Evans. What are you most looking forward to? I am looking forward

coming together as a nation and representing Team USA. Can I just

mention over here, the youngest member of the British team, that is

Danielle, who has been so good when all the guns have been going off.

Hi, Dani! I should say Team Australia! Apologies. We have just

heard from the First Lady of the USA. This is from the REAL First

Lady. Hello, everyone. Some of the most inspiring moments have been

when I have met injured soldiers. You tell me you are not going to

walk again, you are going to run. I have seen that resilience and drive

first-hand at the Warrior Games here in the United States. I couldn't be

more thrilled that the spirit of those Games is now on display across

the pond at the first-ever Invictus Games. So, to all of the competitors

here today, I want you to know how incredible you are. You are

inspiring all of us, especially our young people. You are inspiring them

to believe that if we dig deeper, if we work harder, if we confront the

adversity in our own lives, with just a fraction of the courage you

show every day, that there is nothing we can't achieve. To all the

family members and care-givers in the audience, your courage and

support doesn't go unnoticed either. These heroes wouldn't be here today

without you. So I want to thank every one involved with the Invictus

Games, especially the Royal Foundation of the Duke and Duchess

of Cambridge and Prince Harry for sharing these stories of strength

and determination with the world. And while I can't hide that I'm

hoping Team USA brings home a few golds, we are so inspired by your

example. Good luck everybody and have fun out there. It is my

pleasure to introduce someone whose dedication to troops, veterans and

their families have driven the creation of these Games and someone

whose visit to the White House last year made a group of military

families pretty excited. Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome His Royal

Highness, Prince Harry. over the past eight years, I have

witnessed the whole cycle of life-changing injury, evacuating

soldiers and local Afghans to hospital, flying home from

Afghanistan with some of those critically injured, meeting others

in hospital coming to terms with life-changing injuries and, finally,

trying to keep up with 12 wounded veterans on our way to the South

Pole. I can only begin to imagine how challenging the journey of

recovery is, but the admiration I have for these men and women, to

move beyond their injuries, is limitless. Last year, through the

Royal Foundation, I visited the Warrior Games in the United States,

seeing people who only months earlier had been told they will

never walk again and now winning medals in front of their family and

friends was breathtaking. I knew that anyone would be inspired by

what these men and women had achieved, not just other servicemen

and women, but all those adjusting to life post-injury. Each of them

have come such a long way, even making it to the start line is a

huge achievement. Their stories are amazing, as they are unique.

However, they all share one thing - sport. Sport has been the vehicle

for their recovery allowing them to channel their passion into what can

be achieved rather than what can't. No longer are these inspirational

men and women defined by their injuries, but as athletes,

competitors and team-mates. Over the next four days, we will see some

truly remarkable achievements. For some of those taking part, this will

be a stepping stone to elite sport, but for others, it will mark the end

of a chapter in their recovery. And the beginning of a new one. Either

way, you can be sure that everyone who takes part on the track, pool or

field of play will be giving it their all and I have no doubt that

lives will be changed this weekend. It gives me great pleasure to

welcome the 13 nations to London and to say how delighted I am that many

of you have been joined by your families. The British public support

for our servicemen and women has been exceptional and I know they

will show you the same over the coming days. Finally, I would like

to thank all of you for the tremendous example that you have

set. Your stories move, inspire and humble us. You prove that anything

is possible if you have the will. Welcome to the Games. Welcome to

Invictus. And now the world premiere of Chris

Martin's Invictus Anthem. MUSIC: Invictus Anthem

By Chris Martin # Out of the night that covers me

# Black as the pit from pole to pole # I thank whatever Gods may be

# For my unconquerable soul # In the full clutch of circumstance

# I have not winced nor cried aloud. #

STUDIO: What a start to what promises to be four days of

competition. You can see the full event from 8.00pm tomorrow night. We

will leave you with the rest of this glorious song. Good night.

Hello, I'm Ellie Crisell with a quick update.

David Cameron says he'd be "heartbroken" if Scotland left the