Prince William hands out awards at the Earthshot Prize in Brazil

The awards ceremony was a star studded event with many famous faces turning out to support it

On 5 November 2025, in the vibrant setting of Museum of Tomorrow in Rio de Janeiro, the fifth edition of the Earthshot Prize Awards took place. It was a milestone event for Prince William — founder of the prize. He welcomed a star-studded lineup of famous celebrities to celebrate global innovation for the planet.

The setting and the mission

The awards, which aim to recognise visionaries tackling major environmental challenges, reached their halfway mark in a 10-year scheme launched by Prince William in 2020.

Hosting the ceremony in Brazil underscored the role of the region in nature conservation and climate action.

Celebrities on the green carpet

The atmosphere was equal parts glamour and purpose. Highlights included:

• Australian pop icon Kylie Minogue, who took to the stage and later told the heir to the throne that everyone was “up and dancing.”
• Canadian singer Shawn Mendes, who appeared on the green carpet and shared a warm moment with Prince William.
• Brazilian musical stars including Anitta, Gilberto Gil and Seu Jorge, all performing or appearing during the night.
• Sporting and celebrity figures: for instance, former F1 champion Sebastian Vettel and football legend Cafu were listed among the attendees.
• Brazilian model and member of the Earthshot Prize Council Gisele Bündchen showing her support for the event.

Prince William’s message

In his speech, Prince William commended the finalists and winners as “the world’s true action heroes”. He stressed to everyone that this decade of action will decide the lives of future generations. He reaffirmed the importance of optimism and innovation.

Why the Earthshot Prize matters and is important

Bringing the event to Brazil, the prize:

• highlighted Latin America’s ecological significance but also
• sent a strong message about global inclusion in climate innovation

The mix of celebrities and serious environmental work helped broaden the spotlight—from red carpet glitz to hard-thinking solutions.

The list of boundary-pushing finalists and winners underscored how the Earthshot Prize is more than a showcase. It’s a funded platform to scale up real change.

Looking to the future

With this being the halfway mark of the Earthshot decade, all eyes now turn to:

• how the winners will deliver impact,
• how future ceremonies will preserve both star appeal and substance.

If Brazil’s Earthshot Prize set the bar, future hosts will need to make theirs an equally amazing event.

Earthshot 2025 winners

The 5 winners of the Earthshot Prize were:

• re.green (Brazil) – uses AI and satellite data to make reforestation profitable, restoring the Amazon and Atlantic Forests at scale while protecting vital biodiversity, and supporting local communities
• The City of Bogotá (Colombia) – has implemented bold clean air policies to cut air pollution by 24% since 2018, redesigning how 8 million people move and live, and building a healthier, greener city
• The High Seas Treaty (The Netherlands) – closes the gap in ocean conservation, protecting biodiversity in international waters and helping hit the global 30×30 goal
• Lagos Fashion Week (Nigeria) – is transforming one of the world’s most wasteful industries by creating a new fashion economy: one rooted in purpose, sustainability and cultural integrity
• Friendship (Bangladesh) – protects vulnerable communities in Bangladesh, combining vital services like healthcare and education with climate resilience projects that save lives, restore ecosystems, and create opportunity

Each winner receives a massive grant of approx. £1 million to scale their work. They were chosen from around 2,500 nominations across 72 counties.

The Earthshot Prize is all about nature restoration, air quality, ocean protection, waste/circular economy, climate justice/action. Prince William launched the Earthshot Prize in 2020. It was inspired by the urgent need to tackle climate change and environmental degradation. It’s a 10-year initiative running until 2030, with annual prizes recognising five key areas of environmental innovation.

Prince William has said he wanted to create something that inspired “optimism rather than despair” about the planet’s future. He was motivated by:

• The sense that existing climate discussions often felt negative or overwhelming.
• His own experiences with conservation work, particularly in Africa.
• His belief that innovation, creativity and global collaboration can fix environmental problems. As long as the right people and projects get support.
• Inspiration from President John F. Kennedy’s “Moonshot” program, which showed how bold goals can unite humanity to achieve extraordinary progress.

Prince William has said the prize was born out of concern for what world his 3 children will inherit. He wanted to move from awareness to action, saying:

“The Earthshot Prize is about harnessing that spirit of human ingenuity and optimism to repair and regenerate our planet within this decade.”