Prince William was joined by a host of celebrities to announce that he would take the annual awards ceremony for his multi-million pound environmental prize to Brazil this year.
The heir-to-the British throne, 42, launched the Earthshot Prize in 2020, with the aim of making huge strides towards fixing environmental problems within a decade.
A nod to former U.S. President John F. Kennedy’s ‘moonshot’ project which led to the 1969 lunar landing, its goal is to find innovations to combat climate and other green issues, and awards five winners £1million each to drive their projects.
This year’s awards ceremony will be held shortly before the UN climate summit COP30 which also takes place in Brazil in November.
‘I’m pleased to announce we’re going to be in Brazil in 2025,’ William said in a video to accompany the announcement on Friday.
‘We need urgent optimism now more than ever, and I think Brazil epitomises that, and I can’t believe we are at the half way point of 10 years.’
Previous awards ceremonies have been held in London, Boston, Singapore, and Cape Town, backed by global organisations and philanthropists.
Among the famous faces who also featured in the Earthshot video were actress Cate Blanchett, model Heidi Klum, Brazil’s most capped football and World Cup winner Cafu, and former England football captain David Beckham.
Prince William (pictured left) was joined by a host of celebrities to announce that he would take the annual awards ceremony for his multi-million pound environmental prize to Brazil this year. Pictured right, David Beckham
‘I’m so, so excited … (Brazil) – where nature and culture go hand in hand,’ David said during the clip.
Global ambassador Robert Irwin, son of conservationist and TV personality Steve Irwin, and Hannah Waddingham also featured in the footage.
The prince’s attendance at the Earthshot Prize is expected to be confirmed nearer the time but if the visit coincides with the gathering of world leaders for the UN event the future king could be among them.
To mark the announcement, William said: ‘2025 marks the midway point of the Earthshot decade and each year we’ve witnessed the remarkable power of human ingenuity in addressing our planet’s most pressing challenges.
‘As we bring the Earthshot Prize to Brazil, a nation rich in biodiversity and environmental innovation, we are seeing fresh momentum for new ideas to create healthier and safer ways to live our lives.
‘It is an honour to profile the people making our world a better place for us and for our children.’
William is the driving force behind the annual environmental competition and has attended all the presentation events since launching the initiative.
Cape Town staged the most recent awards ceremony last November after prize-giving events were held in Singapore in 2023, Boston in 2022 and London’s Alexandra Palace in 2021.
Among the famous faces who also featured in the Earthshot video were actress Cate Blanchett (pictured), model Heidi Klum, Brazil’s most capped football and World Cup winner Cafu, and former England football captain David Beckham
The Princess of Wales joined her husband at two of the events, the one in the British capital and the ceremony held in the States.
Prince William founded the prize to recognise and scale-up ideas to help ‘repair’ the planet, with the five winning finalists each awarded £1 million to further develop their ideas.
Awards are presented in five categories, or Earthshots – Protect and restore nature; Clean our air, Revive our oceans; Build a waste-free world; and Fix our climate
