Prince William’s countdown to Earthshot Prize: Royal meets 15 finalists at iconic Cape Town landmark ahead of prestigious awards ceremony

Prince William today told the 15 Earthshot Prize finalists ‘we are here for you’ as he pledged his support for their planet-saving ideas.

The Prince of Wales met those vying for five £1million prizes to scale up their ideas after tonight’s glittering ceremony in Cape Town.

This year’s finalists were selected from nearly 2,500 nominees submitted by the prize’s network of more than 430 nominators from 75 countries.

At the stunning Kirstenbosch National Botanical Gardens at the foot of the iconic Table Mountain, the prince posed for a picture with the group saying: ‘You are all amazing. You should be immensely proud of yourselves.

‘The whole Earthshot team loved hearing about your ideas, the solutions you are all coming up with and I hope you’ve found it beneficial to be here together and creating a such great vibe.

‘We are here for you for the next 12 months and I want to get around to see as many of you as possible, but good luck tonight.’

The 15 finalists all joined together for the annual Earthshot Fellowship Retreat last week ahead of the awards, giving them the opportunity to access mentorship, resources and technical support from experts attached to the prize.

The retreat is organised with the aim of helping each group accelerate the growth of their groundbreaking and potentially planet-saving solutions and kickstarts the year-long Fellowship Programme which supports each finalist to scale up their ideas.

It provides support which includes access to the prize’s network of some of the world’s largest businesses, philanthropists, investors and environmental organisations committed to climate action.

Speaking to the creators behind Build Up Nepal, a social enterprise that has developed an earthquake-resilient brick with 75 per cent lower carbon emissions compared to traditional clay-fired bricks, William said he was ‘blown away’ by the technology being used.

Homes built with these bricks are affordable and have been proven to withstand earthquakes in areas that have been left flattened by natural disasters.

Co-founder Björn Söderberg told the prince that 25 houses made with the company’s ‘Lego-type’ bricks were untouched in an area of Nepal where last year 75,000 houses were damaged by a huge earthquake.

William said: ‘I was blown away by what you are doing. It had the capacity for so much scale, it’s such an incredible idea.

‘What would it mean for you to win the Earthshot prize?’

Bjorn replied: ‘Being recognised here as a finalist has given us such a platform already, but that would give us a huge boost.

‘We are in talks with the local and national governments in Nepal, they realise the capacity for our product, but it would be a massive step in the right direction for us.’

William also told how he was ‘amazed’ at the progress made by American firm Natural Fiber Welding, which is trying to phase out single use and non-recycled plastic.

The world produces over 460million tonnes of plastic every year with just 9 per cent being recycled.

Millions of tonnes are dumped in the oceans and landfill, causing damage to ecosystems and wildlife.

But Natural Fiber Welding’s natural-based circular materials replace plastic in anything from cars to clothing, while reducing carbon emissions and supporting regenerative farmers.

Speaking to Mary Allen, who leads the ‘creative expression’ at the organisation, William revealed he had received a pair of NFW’s plastic free, compostable trainers.

Pointing at Mary’s shoes, he said: ‘Wow, look at them. It’s unbelievable, and with zero waste as well? I read you can crush them up and put them back into the soil, so we really are full circle, such a great idea.’

After the prince asked whether they were making inroads with the fashion industry to get big corporations to implement their technology, Mary revealed they had been in talks with Stella McCartney, who sits on William’s Earthshot Prize Council.

Speaking to the founders of MiAlgea, based in Edinburgh, William heard how the scientists take the byproducts from whisky after it has been distilled to create omega 3 oils from algae, rather than extracting it from fish stocks which are up to 90 per cent depleted around the world.

As he chatted to Duncan Glen, the production operator, William joked: ‘I was fascinated by your company, but I wondered if you were all on a bender and then came up with the idea by chance?’

Laughing, Mr Glen said: ‘No not quite, it would have been a lot more fun if we had!’

William was met and accompanied through the gardens by Werner Voigt, the garden director. 

The fourth annual Earthshot Prize awards will boast the world’s longest ever ‘Green Carpet’ coming in at a colossal 121ft (37m).

It will be held in a reusable eco ‘super dome’ in the city’s Green Point areas.

It will be hosted by award-winning Hollywood star Billy Porter and television presenter Bonang Matheb.

Model and television host Heidi Klum and supermodel Winnie Harlow will be among the guest award presenters.

The awards will go out live across Africa and available to view in the UK on BBC iPlayer.

Aarrivals on the famous walkway will also be live-streamed via the Earthshot Prize’s YouTube channel, with hosts Ebuka Obi-Uchendu and Moozlie. 

Five winners are chosen from five ‘Earthshots’: Protect and Restore Nature, Clean Our Air, Revive Our Oceans, Build a Waste-Free World and Fix Our Climate.

This year’s entrants range from a company which has developed sustainable refrigeration to another that removes harmful carbon dioxide from the ocean, and one that uses palm oil waste to make a sustainable leather alternative.

Each winner receives a staggering £1million in prize money to help develop and scale-up their idea and as well access to a global network of mentors.

The event will be opened by composer and singer Lebo M, performing Circle Of Life from The Lion King in a pre-recorded performance from the top of Table Mountain.

The Earthshot Prize’s green carpet has been a fixture since William first staged the awards ceremony three years ago in London, followed by Boston in December 2022 and Singapore in November 2023.

Guests have been asked to ‘rewear’ their wardrobe or spotlight African designers to highlight the importance of local talent and sustainable fashion.

Hannah Jones, Earthshot chief executive, said: ‘Unlike most prizes, we don’t give awards to people for what they have already achieved. We award for the future potential of their solutions.’

The concept was devised by William and his team after the prince expressed his frustration at the level of ‘pessimism and despair’ around the environment and climate crisis.

He decided to highlight and expand positive and innovative solutions to the problem: Earthshot, ‘the most ambitious environmental prize in history’.

This year’s event is said to ‘go above and beyond’ anything he has done before.

A year-long Fellowship Programme will provide wrap-around support provided to all fifteen Finalists, providing mentorship, resources and technical support, helping to accelerate the growth of each groundbreaking solution.

This includes access to the Prize’s robust network of some of the world’s largest businesses, philanthropists, investors and environmental organisations committed to climate action.