Country Music Stars Headline 2019 DOD Warrior Games Opening & Closing Ceremonies

Tampa, Fla. – The entire Tampa Bay community is invited to come out and be a part of history as Tampa Bay welcomes the 2019 Department of Defense (DoD) Warrior Games for the first time. One of the biggest highlights of the Warrior Games are Opening and Closing Ceremonies, taking place at AMALIE Arena and hosted by former host of The Daily Show, and long-time supporter of the Warrior Games, Jon Stewart.

Two of country music’s biggest stars are slated to take the stage during the events to entertain athletes, families and the Tampa Bay community. We welcome these artists to the stage as part of the Ford Concert Series.

Opening Ceremony

The 2019 Warrior Games Opening Ceremony will take place Saturday, June 22 from 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM at AMALIE Arena. In addition to celebrating the start of the DOD Warrior Games, witness the lighting of the official cauldron and introductions of over 300 athletes, representing service teams from the United States and five allied countries. Country music singer and songwriter Hunter Hayes will welcome athletes to Tampa Bay and ignite the night performing his Grammy nominated hits for the crowd.

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The Warrior Games will be held in Tampa Bay, June 21-30, and all athletic competitions are FREE and open to the public. The Paralympic-style athletic events will be held at venues throughout the community, including AMALIE Arena, Tampa Convention Center, Clearwater’s Long Aquatic Center and University of South Florida.

Closing Ceremony

At the Closing Ceremony – after 10 days of inspirational competition – the community will again come together to applaud and celebrate individual and team performances, including the distribution of the coveted “heart of the team” award. To commemorate the festivities, multi-platinum country artist Sara Evans will entertain crowds with hits from nearly two decades. Closing Ceremony will take place on Sunday, June 30 from 7:00 PM to 9:00 at AMALIE Arena.

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The Warrior Games were established in 2010 to demonstrate the incredible potential of wounded, ill and injured service members. U.S. Special Operations Command and the Tampa Bay area are co-hosting the 2019 Warrior Games and will feature 14 sporting events with over 300 athletes representing teams from the U.S. Air Force, Army, Marine Corps, Navy, and U.S. Special Operations Command, as well as representatives from our ally nations, including the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, Denmark and The Netherlands.

Learn more about the Warrior Games at DODWarriorGames.com.