Prince William enjoyed the company of some of the world’s biggest stars as the five winners of the Earthshot Prize 2023 were announced in Singapore today.
The royal, 41, perfectly co-ordinated with the ceremony’s host Hannah Waddingham, 49, – with William donning a sharp velour suit and dickie bow, while the Ted Lasso star wore a dazzling black ballgown with an emerald sash – as the pair strolled a green – not red – carpet for the 2023 Earthshot Prize Awards Ceremony.
There was further glamour at the environmental prize, held at The Theatre at Mediacorp in Singapore, when Cate Blanchett, 54, looking elegant in a cream embroidered trouser suit, also posed for photos alongside the heir to the throne.
Stars from the world of showbiz and politics had jetted across the globe to attend the glitzy ceremony including US X-men star Lana Condor and former New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern.
n wildlife conservationist Steve Irwin’s son Robert Irwin was on stage presenting awards – with US star Sterling K. Brown acting as Ms Waddingham’s co-host.
Green glamour! Hannah Waddingham walks with the Prince of Wales as he arrives for the 2023 Earthshot Prize Awards Ceremony, at The Theatre at Mediacorp, Singapore on Tuesday
Show-stealer! Wearing an over-sized poppy to mark Remembrance Sunday this weekend, Hannah Waddingham strikes a pose on the green carpet as the guests arrived at the ceremony
The star of stage and screen wore a light pink lip and subtle make-up, with her famous blonde locks gently teased away from her face
There were music idols galore present too, with British band Bastille, US group OneRepublic and singer songwriter Freya Ridings attending the event at Prince William’s invitation.
Five recipient organisations – including a marine protection charity and a soil carbon intiative – from 15 shortlisted were awarded £1million each to continue working on solutions to the climate crisis.
The organisations scooping the prestigious prize this year were announced as Acción Andina, GRST, WildAid Marine Program, S4S Technologies, and Boomitra.
On the green carpet, home-grown star Hannah Waddingham, in a resplendent trailing ballgown, arguably stole the show as she sashayed down alongside Prince William.
William donned a sharp emerald velour jacket and dickie bow, while the Ted Lasso star wore an elegant black ballgown with an emerald sash – as the pair strolled a green carpet for the 2023 Earthshot Prize Awards Ceremony
Prince William opted for a minimal poppy to mark Remembrance Sunday – while Hannah wore hers loud and proud on her glittering black ballgown
Stellar quartet: Prince William poses alongside Hannah Waddingham, Sterling K. Brown and Cate Blanchett ahead of the five £1million prize pots being unveiled
Prince William, with his arms in front of his body, looks to nod in agreement as Cate Blanchett chats to him ahead of the prizes being handed out
Cate Blanchette also attended the ceremony – wearing a beautiful embroidered cream wide-legged trousersuit with matching waistcoat
William and Cate! The royal and his A-lister guest seen at the ceremony on Tuesday; one winner from 15 finalists will scoop the top prize
Cate Blanchett pictured ahead of the ceremony: The n star has been a firm supporter of the environmental prize
This year’s Eurovision host donned an over-sized poppy to mark Remembrance Sunday this weekend, striking a pose for photographers as she walked to shake hands with the royal at the star-studded event.
The star of stage and screen wore a light pink lip and subtle make-up – offering a softer contrast to the drama of her ballgown, with her famous blonde locks gently teased away from her face.
Hollywood A-lister Cate Blanchett also looked relaxed as she chatted to Prince William, the Tar actor kept her make-up minimal, letting a geometrical statement pair of gold earrings take centre stage. The actor wore her blonde hair tousled and loose.
On stage, Prince William gave an impassioned speech, telling those gathered that ‘the effects of the climate crisis have become too visible to be ignored’ and saying: ‘The moment we refused to accept the voices of denial and defeatism, and instead, became the architects of change towards a healthy and sustainable world.’
He said the Earthshot Prize’s finalists ‘remind us that no matter where you are on our planet the spirit of ingenuity, and the ability to inspire change, surrounds us all.’
The winners! Prince William poses with Earthshot Prize 2023 winners including marine protection charity WildAid and soil carbon organisation Boomitra
Each of the recipients of the prize will now receive £1million to continue their environmental work
Time to celebrate! The winners of the prestigious environmental prize chat with Prince William after receiving their award
Pride: The heir to the throne addressed the five organisations following the all-star ceremony
A warm welcome: William greets Cate, just one of a host of glamorous guests to attend the event in the Far East on Tuesday
William and Cate look comfortable as they enjoy a chat while being photographed
All smiles for the big prize: Prince William with Hannah Waddingham and US actor Sterling K. Brown
A hint of green reflected the environmental cause on Hannah’s glamorous black ballgown as she linked arms with Sterling K. Brown ahead of the event
Earlier, Prince William admitted he still believes green campaigning is ‘an uphill battle’ while wishing finalists in the prize good luck.
The Prince of Wales, together with Hannah Jones, chief executive of the Earthshot Prize, met all 15 finalists shortlisted for the awards on Tuesday morning at the base of the world famous Supertrees in Gardens by the Bay.
While there, he heard more about their projects and how the Earthshot fellowship retreat in Singapore this week has helped them.
Beauty: The Eurovision star, whose career has soared in recent weeks, looked stunning at the event
Prince William was joined by a host of high-profile stars on the green carpet – and chatted as he strolled alongside Eurovision star Hannah
On the music front, British band Bastille also attended the event at Prince William’s invitation
Pomp-eii and ceremony! Bastille chat to the royal after arriving at the awards
And US group One Republic joined a host of stars on the green carpet
‘CLIMATE CRISIS EFFECTS ARE TOO VISIBLE TO IGNORE’: PRINCE WILLIAM’S EARTHSHOT PRIZE 2023 SPEECH IN FULL
‘The last year has been one of great change and even greater challenge.
A year in which the effects of the climate crisis have become too visible to be ignored. And a year that has left so many feeling defeated, their hope dwindling.
However, as we have seen tonight, hope does remain. The light of optimism is burning bright in our Earthshot finalists.
From Boomitra, S4S, and Acción Andina, to GRST and Wildaid Marine, our winners and all our finalists remind us that no matter where you are on our planet the spirit of ingenuity, and the ability to inspire change, surrounds us all.
Prince William told this year’s Earthshot prize winners: ‘We owe it to the generations that will follow us to work together both for their future, and for the future of our planet.’
We express our deepest gratitude to Singapore for hosting our third Earthshot Prize ceremony. Few places demonstrate so well how the natural and urban worlds can co-exist.
A great city leveraging technology and innovation to help repair and regenerate our planet. I choose to believe that future generations will look back on this decade as the point at which we globally took collective action for our planet.
The moment we refused to accept the voices of denial and defeatism, and instead, became the architects of change towards a healthy and sustainable world.
We owe it to the generations that will follow us to work together both for their future, and for the future of our planet.
It is my belief that we will find the courage to do so. We will find the courage because we will hold onto the most powerful motivators of all: optimism and hope.’
Hearing how several of the finalists hoped to scale their projects going forwards, William praised them for their work so far, saying: ‘Campaigning activism is really hard work sometimes, it’s an uphill battle, that’s the point of Earthshot – to elevate the wonderful work you’re all doing. It’s mine and Hannah’s job to scale you up.
‘Good luck to all of you.’
William also spoke with Nidhi Pant of S4S Technologies based in India, one of the Build A Waste Free World finalists – revealing that he speaks to his children about food waste.
Former NZ Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern flew into Singapore, looking elegant in a close-fitting satin dress in taupe
Freya Ridings was also amongst the guests at this year’s Earthshot Prize Awards Ceremony
US actor Lana Condor – in a chic little black dress – posed on the green carpet ahead of the Earthshot Prize Awards ceremony in Singapore
Stepping out! Prince William arriving at the Earthshot Prize Awards Ceremony earlier in the evening
Prince William arrived at the event to be greeted by the CEO of The Earthshot Prize, Hannah Jones
Striding forth: The Prince heads for the main event after arriving at the glitzy Singapore venue
Her project combats food waste, rural poverty and gender inequality by helping smallholder female farmers preserve and market surplus produce, including misshapen vegetables.
He told Ms Pant: ‘It’s so important. The amount of conversations we have as a family – picking up a carrot with a funny shape and asking why it can’t be sold – it’s mad.’
With the Protect and Restore Nature finalists, the prince spoke to Manja Kargbo, founder of the Freetown the Treetown tree-preservation project in Sierra Leone, a ‘pay as you plant’ scheme for local communities.
He asked her: ‘Has this week and the fellowship been helpful, useful?’
Ms Kargbo told him: ‘It has been an amazing week, with so much energy and engagement with my cohort.’
While chatting to the Clean our Air finalists, Gunnlaugur Erlendsson, the founder and chief executive of ENSO, a London-based company that makes tyres for electric vehicles that are designed to be more sustainable and reduce pollution, asked William how he had found dragon boat racing on Monday.
Laughing, the prince replied: ‘Quite competitive, I felt it a bit in the shoulders this morning.’