British royal William, Prince of Wales, arrived in Singapore yesterday for the Earthshot Prize 2023 ceremony being held tomorrow, and related engagements. “Hello Singapore,” he wrote (with a hand wave emoji) on the social network X. “It’s fantastic to be back in Singapore for this year’s Earthshot Prize ceremony, after eleven years.”
The post also said: “Singapore’s bold vision to be a leader for environmental innovation sets the standard for others to follow. I am grateful to the Singaporean people for hosting us this week. Let us all take inspiration from the fantastic work being done here as we celebrate this year’s Earthshot Prize finalists.”
Standing on a balcony at Changi Airport, near the Jewel Changi waterfall installation, Prince William waved to the enthusiastic Singapore crowd, who waved Union Jack flags and later thronged around him for selfies.
The British royal was accompanied by Sim Ann, Singapore’s Senior Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and National Development. William’s engagements in Singapore run from November 6 to 8. An advocate for conservation, he works with his wife Catherine (better known as Kate), Princess of Wales, on identifying winners of the Earthshot Prize.
The Earthshot Prize is presented by the Royal Foundation, UK, of which Prince William is the founder and president. The 2022 award ceremony was held in Boston, United States. In November 2023, in partnership with Temasek Trust, Temasek, GenZero, and Conservation International, the Prize has come to Singapore in order to give the centre-stage to environmental innovation in Southeast Asia.
The Earthshot Prize was established by Prince William in 2020; its aim is to find ecological solutions and nurture eco-innovators.
The prize has five categories. The winner in each of these five categories gets an award of GBP1 million, and the Prize will be given for a decade, which takes the total Earthshot Prize pot to GBP50 million. The five areas covered under the Prize are:
● Protect and restore nature
● Clean our air
● Revive our oceans
● Build a waste-free world
● Fix our climate