Prince William's fifth Earthshot Prize will travel to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in November for a series of events focused on supporting the growth of environmental solutions. William, 42, will unveil the 2025 location in a video posted to social media today, which will feature special appearances from former England football captain David Beckham, actress Cate Blanchett and Brazilian footballer Cafu. Preceding years were held in South Africa, Singapore, Boston and London.
William, who has attended every Earthshot Award since he founded the Environmental Prize in 2020, is expected to travel to South America and spend several days conducting engagements in conjunction with the prize, though Kensington Palace has yet to confirm his attendance. It is unclear whether he will be joined by the Princess of Wales, who has joined her husband for two of the four ceremonies that have taken place so far.
William is also set to attend the COP climate conference in Belem, Brazil, as he intends to use the platform to spread urgent optimism.
Speaking after his 2024 Earthshot Prize in Cape Town, a royal source said: "Next year, the climate COP will take place in Brazil, and it's set to be hugely consequential. The Prince of Wales is looking forward to playing a role there."
The Earthshot Prize aims to find and scale innovative solutions to address the world’s greatest environmental challenges, with five annual awards of £1milion each to winners in five categories.
A shortlist of 15 - five in each category - will be invited to Rio for the awards ceremony later in the year.
William said: “2025 marks the midway point of the Earthshot decade and each year we’ve witnessed the remarkable power of human ingenuity in addressing our planet's most pressing challenges.
“As we bring The Earthshot Prize to Brazil, a nation rich in biodiversity and environmental innovation, we are seeing fresh momentum for new ideas to create healthier and safer ways to live our lives.
“It is an honour to profile the people making our world a better place for us and for our children.”
