The Armed Forces community gets first go at tickets for the Invictus Games Birmingham 2027 on Tuesday and Wednesday of this week.
Registration for the priority presale – open to serving personnel, veterans, reservists, cadets and MOD civil servants – closed at 23:59 on Sunday, but that isn’t the end of the head start. A community presale runs on Tuesday 20 and Wednesday 21 October, two days before general sale, and it is open to anyone who signs up to the Birmingham 2027 Community by 23:59 on Sunday 18 October.
The Games run from 10 to 17 July 2027 at the NEC and Sandwell Aquatics Centre, with wounded, injured and sick serving personnel and veterans from around the world competing across 12 adaptive sports. Organisers expect around 550 competitors.
The choice of city matters more to this audience than most. Since 2001, the Royal Centre for Defence Medicine in Birmingham has been the main receiving unit for military casualties evacuated from operations, and casualties from Iraq and Afghanistan were flown there for treatment, first to Selly Oak Hospital and later to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital. Help for Heroes was founded after Bryn and Emma Parry visited wounded soldiers at Selly Oak. Organisers make the point that many UK competitors began their recovery in the city that is now hosting them, and Birmingham beat a rival bid from Washington DC on the strength of those ties.
If you registered for the Priority Presale
The presale is open to Regulars, Reservists, cadets, MOD civil servants and veterans, along with residents of the seven council areas in the West Midlands Combined Authority. Eligibility is checked against your Birmingham 2027 Community profile, so it’s worth logging in before Tuesday to make sure your Armed Forces or veteran status is there.
What it costs
Adult tickets start at £10 for a Festival Pass, which gives all-day access to the Invictus Festival site at the NEC. A Sports Session Ticket, from £15, gets you into a specific competition and onto the festival site the same day. Tickets for the opening or closing ceremony start at £27. Concession prices are available, including for juniors, and ticket types can be mixed across the week.
There are no per-ticket booking fees, just a single £2 transaction fee per order. You can buy up to 10 tickets for most sports sessions but only four for swimming and for the ceremonies, so if either is on your list it makes sense to go for those first when your presale opens.
If you need an accessible ticket, you will be asked for an IG27 Digital Access Pass or an Access Card number during booking. The Digital Access Pass is free, and applying now means it won’t hold you up when you come to buy.
Key dates
- Tuesday 13 October Priority Presale opens
- Wednesday 14 October Priority Presale closes
- Sunday 18 October, 23:59 Community Presale sign-up closes
- Tuesday 20 October Community Presale opens
- Wednesday 21 October Community Presale closes
- Thursday 22 October General sale opens, including group bookings
Sign up at invictusgames2027.org/tickets
