The Earthshot Prize Awards held yesterday brought forth the first-ever award winners of the most celebrated environmental prize in history at an extraordinary ceremony held at Alexandra Palace in London.
The five winners of this one-of-a-kind prize are entitled to £1million in prize money, as well as technical and professional support on a global scale to accelerate their impact in solving current environmental problems.
A Proud Father
As Prince William readied himself to present the awards on the Royal Foundation’s behalf, Prince Charles made use of the platform to express his pride for his son.
Ahead of the event, Charles commented on how boldly ambitious the Earthshot Prize is, adding that he’s very proud of his elder son for his growing concern and commitment to the environment. The 72-year-old prince added that the world needs to group together to reimagine, inspire, and build the sustainable future that is so desperately needed at this point.
He continued his statement by mentioning that the Earthshot Prize, its nominees, and its winners will help discover and create innovative solutions over the coming decade. The royal also vouched to have his Terra Carta and Sustainable Markets Initiative work in parallel, mobilizing trillions of dollars to help the global economy transition towards a more sustainable trajectory. This is the best opportunity to deliver a better future for humankind.
The Awards Ceremony
The one-hour ceremony was introduced by Prince William by way of a pre-recorded message from the London Eye. The event aimed to change the narrative around environmental issues from pessimistic to optimistic by bringing forth the places and people leading the change by innovative solutions on protecting our land, air, and oceans. The first-ever ceremony is to be preceded with more of its kind through 2030.
In the short film, Prince William states that human beings are currently living through the most consequential of times – and it is the actions we take in the next decade that will decide the fate of our planet.
The environmental event was hosted by Dermot O’Leary and Clara Amfo, with a special performance by Coldplay, whose set was powered by the energy from 60 cyclists. Other performing artists for the night included KSI, Ed Sheeran, Shawn Mendes, and Yemi Alade.