William’s Earthshot Prize ceremony to name £1 million winners

The Prince of Wales’s Earthshot Prize will award five winners £1 million at a ceremony in Rio de Janeiro on Wednesday.

Kylie Minogue and Canadian singer Shawn Mendes are among the global stars who will be performing at the ceremony, including Brazilian music star and former minister of culture Gilberto Gil.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer will join William at the event, where the prince will give the key-note speech, before both men gather with world leaders at the global COP30 climate change summit in the Amazonian city of Belem.

William founded the prize to recognise and scale up ideas to help “repair” the planet, with the five winning category finalists each awarded £1 million to further develop their ideas.

The awards show will be hosted by Brazilian broadcaster Luciano Huck and among the award presenters will be former Brazil defender Cafu, four-time Formula One world champion Sebastian Vettel and Txai Surui, a leading voice for Brazil’s Indigenous communities and the environment.

The winners will be named in five categories, or Earthshots – protect and restore nature; clean our air; revive our oceans; build a waste-free world; and fix our climate.

William said before leaving for Rio: “With the world’s eyes turning to Brazil this week, there is no better place to celebrate bold climate leadership.

“Hosting the Earthshot Prize allows us to not only recognise those driving change, but to be inspired by them. When we work together with optimism and courage, a more sustainable future is within our reach.”

The prince is making a five-day visit to Brazil, his first to the South American country, and in the lead up to the awards ceremony has been carrying out a series of environmental and Earthshot themed events in Rio.

Ahead of the ceremony William will spend time with the 15 finalists at the Christ the Redeemer statue overlooking Rio to hear about their experiences and hopes for the future.