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Moonshot to Earthshot: Wrapping up 2022

Earth from space

And just like that another huge year in the short history of The Earthshot Prize draws to a close.

In 2022, The Earthshot Prize continued to grow with more people around the world discovering the inspiring stories behind our finalists. We also welcomed 15 new incredible innovators to the Earthshot Prize, all with ground-breaking solutions and ambitions to repair the planet we call home.

Thanks is due to everyone who has helped make this year so special – from our fantastic Global Alliance partners to our passionate supporters around the world, and of course our finalists and winners.

We can’t wait to see what 2023 will bring, but before we do let’s look back at some of the best moments from 2022.

The award-winning Awards

Early in the year, our inaugural Awards Ceremony, held in London in October 2021, was awarded Best Live Event in British Television at the Royal Television Society Awards and nominated for a BAFTA in the same category.

It was here that our first ever winners of The Earthshot Prize were named, alongside unforgettable performances from global stars and inspiring words from Prince William and Sir David Attenborough.

Thank you to everyone who tuned in to watch.

The Earthshot Prize Awards London 2021

Meeting the 2021 Finalists

In March, The Prince and Princess of Wales visited Earthshot Prize Winner, Coral Vita, at their coral farm in Grand Bahama to see first-hand how they had rapidly scaled their effort as a result of winning the Prize.

Prince William and Princess of Wales visit Coral Vita

 

 

We also caught up with all of last year’s winners to see what they have achieved since the Awards.

Networking in New York

Our first ever Earthshot Prize Innovation Summit was held in New York during Climate Week NYC, bringing our 2021 finalists and winners together with heads of state, government and business leaders, philanthropists and activists to discuss how to tackle the world’s most pressing environmental challenges.

It was here that Bloomberg Philanthropies announced an incredible new investment of more than $20 million to support our inaugural Finalists and Winners.

2021 Finalists Olugbega Olubenjo,-Dr Sebastian Groh, Gator Halpern at New York Innovation Summit

Inspiring a Continent

Twenty-two million households across Africa now have the opportunity to be inspired by the ground-breaking work our winners and finalists do, thanks to a new partnership between The Earthshot Prize and MultiChoice, Africa’s leading entertainment company.

MultiChoice partnership with The Earthshot Prize

 

The big reveal

In November, it was time to announce the fifteen inspirational entrepreneurs and innovators that would be The Earthshot Prize finalists for 2022.

This diverse group of talented leaders were revealed by Prince William in a group chat video, which was seen by 3.5 million people around the world.

 

 

 

Our exclusive five-part YouTube series ‘Solutions to Repair the Planet‘ also premiered this month, telling the inspiring stories of the this year’s fifteen finalists and their solutions to some of the greatest environmental challenges we face on Earth today.

Boston turns green

Late November, and The Earthshot Prize landed in Boston. Working alongside the John F. Kennedy Foundation we celebrated and spotlighted, quite literally, our finalists and the city’s ongoing transformation towards sustainability.

And the winner is...

From Moonshot to Earthshot, the world’s eyes turn to the MGM Musical Hall at Fenway Park, Boston, where the five winners of the second annual Earthshot Prize awards were announced.

Each winner will receive £1m prize money and access to tailored support from our Global Alliance network of philanthropies, NGOs and businesses to help scale their solutions.

Joining the Prince and Princess of Wales to celebrate this year’s finalists and award the winners were passionate climate activists Rami Malek, Catherine O’Hara and Shailene Woodley.

Guests and viewers of the ceremony were also treated to incredible performances from Annie Lennox, Billie Eilish, Chloe x Halle and Ellie Goulding.

However, the main stage was for our finalists with celebrations with media coverage arranged in each country to spotlight their incredible achievements. Thanks to our broadcast partners BBC, PBS and MultiChoice, the ceremony has now been watched by over 9+ million people worldwide to date.

BBC logoPBS logoMultiChoice logo

Instant impact

As the year draws to a close, our 2021 Finalists provide an update on the incredible impact their solutions are already having in the short time since last year’s awards.

The search resumes...

Even as we continue to celebrate our 2022 winners, our global Nominator network has already begun its search for the inspiring innovators that will become our 2023 cohort.

Find out more about our how we search.

The Earthshot Prize