South Korean city Daejeon to host 2029 Invictus Games, beating Aalborg

Daejeon, South Korea, has been chosen to host the 2029 Invictus Games, an international multi-sport event for wounded, injured, and sick service personnel. The announcement means that the Danish city of Aalborg, which was a finalist in the bidding process, will not be the host.

Denmark's Minister of Defence, Jeppe Bruus, congratulated Daejeon on its successful bid. While expressing disappointment that Aalborg was not selected, Bruus stated that he is pleased that participating Danish veterans will have the opportunity to gain new experiences alongside international counterparts in South Korea.

Daejeon's selection marks a historic moment as it will be the first Asian city to host the Invictus Games. The event, founded by Britain's Prince Harry, has been held six times since its inception in 2014. The next edition in 2025 will take place in Birmingham, England.

Reports indicate that hosting the Invictus Games in Aalborg would have incurred significant costs for the Danish Ministry of Defence, estimated at 130 million Danish kroner, with an additional 10 million kroner contribution from Aalborg Municipality. This financial aspect was previously communicated to the Danish Parliament's Finance Committee.

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Selvom jeg selvfølgelig havde håbet, at Aalborg og Danmark fik tildelt værtskabet, glæder jeg mig over, at vores deltagende veteraner kan se frem til at få nye oplevelser sammen med veteraner fra andre lande i Sydkorea.