Ed Sheeran and KSI among stars supporting Prince William's first Earthshot Prize
A movie premier-style event has been announced for the inaugural ceremony of Prince William’s Earthshot Prize.
The Duke of Cambridge wants the annual fund – which will award £1 million each to five winners – to turn the pessimism associated with the climate emergency into optimism.
The event – which will be televised from Alexandra Palace in London next Sunday – will include “red-carpet“ celebrity arrivals (although the carpet is expected to be green) and performances from Ed Sheeran, Coldplay, Shawn Mendes, KSI and Yemi Alade.
None of the guests will fly in specially for the event as it has been organised with its carbon footprint in mind.
The one hour ceremony will celebrate the work of the 15 finalists and announce which of them have won the prize money to develop their ideas further.
The name ‘earthshot’ took inspiration from America’s moonshot prize in the 1960s which committed the nation to getting a man on the moon by the end of the decade.
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Prince William hopes his scheme will inspire people from across the globe to find solutions to the biggest environmental problems facing us all.
William’s wife, the Duchess of Cambridge has been announced as one of the presenters of the five awards.
The others will be presented by actors Emma Thompson, Emma Watson and David Oyelowo, and footballer Mo Salah.
There are five Earthshot categories: Protect and Restore Nature; Clean our Air; Revive our Oceans; Build a Waste-Free World; and Fix our Climate.
The first 15 finalists have been chosen from 750 nominations by a panel of scientists and environmentalists.
The five finalists are being chosen by a prize council which includes Prince William, Sir David Attenborough, Queen Rania of Jordan, the singer Shakira, the actor Cate Blanchett, the Brazilian footballer Dani Alves and the global environmental diplomat Christiana Figueres.
The Earthshot Prize has been developed by William and Kate’s charity organisation, The Royal Foundation.
Its chief executive, Jason Knauf, said: “This will be an award show unlike any you’ve seen before that will entertain you and inspire you to take action to repair the planet in this decisive decade.”
Prince William will introduce the live event which will be hosted by Dermot O’Leary and Clara Amfo.
Sir David Attenborough will also speak during the evening about his optimism for the ability of humankind to rise to the greatest environmental challenges of our time.
Dermot O’Leary spoke of how he’d been inspired by the 15 finalists: “Their innovation encourages hope for future generations and our planet, it is wonderful to be a part of such a major push for change.”
The Earthshot Prize will be on BBC1 at 7pm on Sunday 17 October.