Prince William has spoken of his many fond memories in Africa ahead of his return to the continent for his Earthshot Prize awards.
In an emotional message ahead of the ceremony, he touched on the solace he found in Africa after the tragic death of his late mother, Princess Diana, and also told of the joy he felt when he proposed to his wife Kate when holidaying in Kenya in 2010. Today he arrived in South Africa ahead of the fourth instalment of his global environmental awards, which hands out individual prizes of £1million to five winners each year over a decade.
William has explained how he came up with the idea to find planet-saving solutions to the world’s most pressing climate matters during a private visit to Namibia and an encounter with a lone, endangered white rhino.
The awards will see a stunning musical performance on the Lion King musical on top of the iconic Table Mountain, with Cape Town landmarks set to light up green for the opening ceremony. William will be joined by 1,000 South Africans alongside special guests during the Ceremony at the purpose-built Earthshot Prize Dome in the heart of Cape Town.
Guests will be welcomed on the world’s longest ‘Green Carpet’ event being broadcast live to showcase sustainable fashion and celebrate African design. Speaking ahead of his visit William said: “Africa has always held a special place in my heart – as somewhere I found comfort as a teenager, where I proposed to my wife and most recently as the founding inspiration behind The Earthshot Prize.
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“It was in Namibia in 2018 that I realised the power of how innovative, positive solutions to environmental problems could drive transformative change for humans and nature.”
Based on the President John F Kennedy ‘Moonshot’ concept during the 1960s space race to put man on the moon, William created five ‘Earthshots’ to launch and promote five planet saving ideas each year.
The project has gone even further since being created in 2021, supporting dozens of finalists with a Dragon’s Den style support network linking them with investors around the globe to make their ideas come to life.
Events have been held in London, Boston and Singapore and will be hosted in Cape Town this week marking a landmark visit to the African continent. The Prince said his ambition is to join innovators and investors together to inspire people to “reshape the future of our planet”.
English