Prince William sets date for Earthshot Prize Awards

Five winners will be awarded £1m each for their solutions to the world’s most pressing environmental problems

Duke of Cambridge attends a UEFA Euro 2020 match (POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Prince William has announced a date and location for his long-awaited Earthshot Prize Awards ceremony.

The ceremony, which is hosted by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's Royal Foundation, awards five winners who have come up with solutions that can substantially improve the environment.

After the initiative was launched in 2020, the first ceremony finally has a venue and date and will take place at London’s Alexandra Palace on 17 October.

Prizes are awarded for five categories, including ideas for protecting and restoring nature, cleaning the air, offering a solution for the climate crisis, improving ocean health and tackling waste.

The duke teased the announcement on his Twitter earlier this week, posting a video of the back of his head as a drone flew away from home. “@earthshotprize news coming later this week…” he captioned the post.

This year will be the first annual ceremony in what will be a decade-long competition, awarding five different solutions every year from 2021 to 2030.

The initiative will award £50m in total, giving each winner £1m to support their projects.

Organisers said the event will also be televised internationally and will feature “some of the world’s leading performers, all committed to repairing our planet”.

Announcing the date and location of the ceremony, William said: “Join me for the first-ever Earthshot Prize Awards, where we’ll unveil five global prizewinners and their game-changing solutions to repair our planet, on October 17th, here in London.”

The awards will be held just weeks before the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference, which is taking place in Glasgow.

“By hosting COP26 conference in Glasgow just weeks after our inaugural awards, the UK is helping lead the world in tackling climate change.

“London is a fantastic location to showcase this leadership, spotlight the finalists and award our very first Earthshot Prize winners,” William said.

The ceremony has been welcomed by London mayor Sadiq Khan, who described it as a “momentous occasion”. It also has the backing of Sir David Attenborough, who has supported the intiative since its inception.

He will serve as one of the judges, alongside actress Cate Blanchett, singer Shakira and queen Rania of Jordan.