LONDON (Reuters) -Britain’s Prince William was joined by celebrities and soccer stars to announce on Friday that he would take the annual awards ceremony for his multi-million dollar environmental prize to Brazil this year.
The heir-to-the throne 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 1 million pounds ($1.3 million) 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.
“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 soccer player and World Cup winner Cafu, and former England soccer captain David Beckham.
“I’m so, so excited … (Brazil) – where nature and culture go hand in hand,” Beckham said.
(Reporting by Michael Holden; editing by William James)
