Following the success of the Prince William’s Earthshot Prize over the last three years, it has been announced that the award ceremony will be taken to South Africa for its fourth year.
For 2024, Cape Town will host the awards in November, which were founded as ‘an ambitious set of challenges to inspire a decade of action to repair the planet’ in 2019 by William and named after the Moonshot plan to put man on the moon.
The Earthshot Prize was spearheaded by Prince William, The Duke of Cambridge (BBC Studios/James Watkins)
The five ‘Earthshots’ are based around five goals to repair our planet: Protect and Restore Nature, Clean our Air, Revive our Oceans, Build a Waste-free World and Fix our Climate.
Nominations for this year’s ceremony has seen nearly 400 African-based projects enter the competition, which demonstrates the creativity and innovation across the continent who are aiming to inspire optimism and provide pathways for transformative change around the world.
The Prince of Wales attends the third Earthshot Prize ceremony. (The Earthshot Prize/Twitter).
Hannah Jones, the Earthshot Prize’s Chief Executive, said: ‘This is the Earthshot decade, a decade in which we must, by 2030, reduce CO2 emissions by over 40%, and protect 30% of nature, oceans and freshwater. The nominations to the Earthshot Prize remind us that human ingenuity, grit and determination can turn the seemingly impossible into the new normal.’
‘We’re delighted to be working with changemakers and partners across Africa to spotlight the incredible innovation emerging across the continent, to convene courageous conversations about scale and finance, and to partner with young creators and filmmakers to tell the story of changemakers across Africa.’
In 2024, The Earthshot Prize will be going to…
CAPE TOWN 🇿🇦 🎉
✨ 15 Finalists
🏆 5 new Winners#EarthshotCapeTown coming soon in partnership with @MultiChoiceGRP! pic.twitter.com/YEU6Lfas5c— The Earthshot Prize (@EarthshotPrize) February 9, 2024
Africa is the most vulnerable continent to the impacts of climate change; for example in 2022, more than 110 million people across Africa were directly affected by weather, climate, and water-related hazards according to the World Meteorological Organisation.
It is unclear at this time whether The Prince of Wales will make a trip to South Africa for the Awards in November. The Prince has only made one visit to South Africa previously in 2010 in support of the Football Association’s bid to host the 2018 FIFA World Cup, and also attended an opening round of the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
Similar to Earthshot Week 2023, there will be a week of activities starting with the Prize’s annual Awards Ceremony which will celebrate the 15 Earthshot Prize finalists. The following day will see Earthshot+, a day of conversations aimed at showcasing the impact of this campaign.
During Earthshot Week, Cape Town will also host the annual Earthshot Fellowship Retreat which will kickstart the yearlong Earthshot Prize Fellowship Programme – a key element the 15 finalists receive in addition to the £1 million prize for their climate solution, providing mentorship and resources to help them.
