Prince William will arrive in South Africa tomorrow (Monday 4th November) as Earthshot Week officially kicks off in Cape Town, with the fourth annual Earthshot Prize Awards Ceremony taking place on Wednesday 6th November.
Africa was chosen as the fourth continent to host the star-studded event in acknowledgement of its enormous contribution to enhancing climate action and tackling the biggest environmental challenges our planet faces. Despite contributing the least to global warming and having the lowest emissions, Africa is the most vulnerable continent to the impacts of a changing climate.
Yet in the face of these challenges, African innovators are already unlocking the potential of climate solutions to create green jobs, address urgent environmental and health issues while improving the livelihoods of millions of people.
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. 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.
I am proud that since its inception The Earthshot Prize has travelled to Europe, North America and Asia, spotlighting and scaling 45 groundbreaking solutions, all of which are having a tangible impact as we work as a global collective to secure the future of our planet.
This week we’ll travel to South Africa to spotlight our next cohort of 15 Finalists and have the opportunity to join partners from across Africa to celebrate the inspiring approach to environmental innovation that is taking place across the continent.
By the end of the week, I want The Earthshot Prize to have provided a platform to all those innovators bringing about change for their communities, encouraged potential investors to speed African solutions to scale and inspired young people across Africa who are engaged in climate issues. I firmly believe that if we come together with collective ambition and urgency, we can reshape the future of our planet.
Ahead of the Awards Ceremony being held in South Africa, The Earthshot Prize has built up a significant regional network of nominators, experts, Global Alliance partners and members, helping to identify the most impressive climate-innovations across the continent.
As a result of this, the number of African-based nominations has doubled between 2023 and 2024, with over 400 nominations from African-led solutions and another 350 with operations and impact in Africa.
Throughout Earthshot Week – which will run between Monday 4th and Thursday 7th November – these African innovators and all those contributing to efforts to protect our planet will be celebrated.
Cape Town and the iconic Table Mountain from the sea
The five Winners of this year’s Earthshot Prize will be unveiled during the Awards Ceremony on the evening on Wednesday 6th November.
The event will take place in The Earthshot Prize Dome, a purpose-built venue beside Cape Town Stadium using a structure designed and engineered in South Africa, which has been used previously and will be used again for future events in the country. It is the biggest of its kind in Africa, with a width of 36m, a height of 15.5 metres and a length of 144m, twice as long as a rugby pitch. The production of the Ceremony has created approximately 650 jobs locally, contributing significantly to Cape Town’s creative industries.
The show will open with an exclusive performance by Lebo M. of Circle of Life from The Lion King, pre-recorded at the top of Table Mountain. It is the first time that such a performance has been recorded at Cape Town’s most iconic site, providing a groundbreaking opening to the Awards Ceremony which will be broadcast in 50 countries across Africa via the Multichoice network, in the UK on BBC iPlayer, and around the world on YouTube.
For the first time, over 1000 members of the public have been invited to join The Prince of Wales, The Earthshot Prize Finalists and special guests at the Awards Ceremony in Cape Town. Attendees have been invited in recognition of their long-serving commitment to their local communities.
Ahead of the Awards, The Earthshot Prize will host its first ever Green Carpet Event, which will be broadcast live globally via the Earthshot Prize’s YouTube channel, with hosts Ebuka Obi-Uchendu and Moozlie. The event will profile the need to focus on sustainable approaches to fashion – by reducing, recycling and using low impact materials. Guests have been asked to ‘rewear’ their wardrobe or spotlight African designers in order to highlight the importance of sustainable fashion and local creatives.
As with previous years, sustainability is at the heart of the event, with green principles guiding all aspects of the Ceremony’s development. The City of Cape Town is supplying Renewable Energy Certificates from Darling Wind Farm, meaning that for every kWh of electricity used during the event, a kWh of locally produced renewable energy is allocated.
To celebrate Earthshot Week taking place in South Africa, Table Mountain and other Cape Town landmarks will be lit green from 4th-7th November, following on from famous sites being lit green in London, Boston and Singapore over the past three years.
Those visiting Cape Town over the coming days will also see The Earthshot Prize at several of the city’s famous yellow frames which encourage visitors and locals to enjoy the beauty of Table Mountain.
In addition, visitors can explore a public exhibition at the Sea Point celebrating African climate heroes who are using their creativity, time and talent to fix the world’s problems, one ingenious solution at a time.
Want to know more about the Awards? Go to our Cape Town 2024 page for all the details including how to watch and which global environmental influencers will be joining us on stage.
