Prince Harry wants the world to "draw strength" from the Invictus Games.
The 33-year-old royal hopes the Olympics-style competition for injured service personnel will show everyone the importance of sport and its rehabilitation qualities.
He said: "Back in 2013, I was able to witness the Warrior Games in Colorado and to see the power of sport was truly remarkable. Yet it wasn’t on an international scale and not enough people were being involved in it.
"These individuals and their stories are remarkable. The general public across the world need to see this, to draw strength from it and at the same time, competitors themselves will be able to use sport to be able to rehabilitate themselves."
And Dominic Reid, chief executive of the Invictus Games Foundation, admits none of the team could have ever really "understood the profound impact" that the event has had.
Speaking in a video published to The Royal Family’s YouTube account, Dominic added: "When we established the games in 2014, we knew we could put on a really good competition but I didn’t think we really understand the profound impact it was going to have on the recovery pathways of a lot of these people and also the effect it was going to have on their friends and family. We also didn’t gauge the impact it was going to have on the broader public."
The Invictus Games are currently taking place in Toronto, Canada and will run until September 30.
Speaking previously about the games, Prince Harry said: "Time and time again, competitors from around the world tell me that sport has saved them; that the Invictus Games have given them a new lease on life; and that to represent their country again with fellow comrades is something they could only have dreamt of while lying in hospital."
Prince Harry: The world should ‘draw strength’ from the Invictus Games
