Behind the Scenes of Prince William’s Earthshot Prize: Singapore ‘Took It Up a Notch,’ Says Photographer

New photos of Prince William at his Earthshot Awards in Singapore have been released

It’s Prince William and Cate (or Blanchett!)

New behind-the-scenes photos have been released at the William Earthshot Awards ceremony in Singapore, showing the Prince of Wales preparing his speech and having a drink between duties as he greets actress Cate Blanchett, a member of the Earthshot Awards Council.

According to royal photographer Chris Jackson, who was backstage at the previous two Earthshot Prizes — in London and Boston — this year’s event was a success.

“Excited to share my ‘behind the scenes’ images from Prince William’s Earthshot Awards in Singapore this week – It’s always a special night and a privilege to capture this intimate angle of such a groundbreaking event,” Jackson said in an Instagram post. “London and Boston were amazing, but Singapore took it up another notch.”

Among the images released, William is seen leaning forward to shake Blanchett’s hand and preparing for his speech at the end of the show.

Prince William and Cate Blanchett talk at the Earthshot Awards ceremony in Singapore.

Chris Jackson/Getty Images for Earthshot

Releasing the images over the weekend, Jackson’s Instagram post helped announce the broadcast of the show, which aired on PBS on Sunday night.

The release of the images comes after William and wife Kate Middleton’s joint YouTube channel released two new videos. One showed the couple diving to coral reefs in the Bahamas last year. The royal couple were visiting Earthshot award winner Coral Vita at the time, looking at how they can help restore the sea by harvesting and growing new corals. Then they released a new illuminating video of the prince’s trip to Singapore.

At this year’s event, William told the audience: “I am determined to believe that future generations will look back on this decade as a point where we globally took collective action for our planet.”

“The moment we refused to accept the voices of denial and defeatism, and instead became the architects of change towards a healthy and sustainable world.”

Revive Our Oceans winner, WildAid Marine Program COO Meaghan Brosnan summed up the collaborative atmosphere by telling the crowd, “Every finalist in this room deserves to be on this stage. Protection is a team sport guys and I’m so glad we’re going into this decade together. I can’t wait to see the magic we create together.”

William with host and presenter Hannah Waddingham at the Earthshot Awards ceremony in Singapore last week.

Chris Jackson/Getty Images for Earthshot

British High Commissioner Kara Owen echoed that sentiment when she told PEOPLE last week that the energy around the finalists is special. “They really cheered each other on,” Owen said. “There were big prizes at stake, but it’s also so much more than that. It’s about building an eco-system where the right kind of solutions to help rebuild the planet can get investment. There was a real atmosphere about it and how supportive they were of one from another.”

This year’s Earthshot Prize evening opened with a monologue by the famous naturalist Sir David Attenborough before Ted Lasso star Hannah Waddingham, along with fellow host, Emmy Award-winning actor and producer Sterling K. Brown, welcomed delegates at the gateway to Southeast Asia.

Kate Middleton will not be joining Prince William in Singapore so she can support Prince George during working hours

Blanchett announced the winners of the first prize, Protect and Restore Nature, which went to Acción Andina. Based in the Andes Mountains, South America, it is a local, community-based initiative working across the continent to protect the region’s indigenous high Andean forest ecosystems. Blanchett said the $1.2 million prize money will help “elevate their project.” Florent Kaiser, CEO of Global Forest Generation from Accion Andes, said from the stage: “It’s much more than a project in the Andes. It’s a symbol of hope. Thank you to everyone here and to the amazing Earthshot community.”

Prince William laughs as he drinks some water backstage during the 2023 Earthshot Awards ceremony on November 7.

Chris Jackson/Getty Images for Earthshot

The Clean Our Air Earthshot Award was won by GRST, which has a solution to help make the electric cars of the future cleaner, with its innovative way of making and recycling vital lithium-ion batteries. Justin Hang, from the company, said: “I will use this award to engage everyone on this planet to increase the use of a truly sustainable lithium-ion battery in their daily lives.”

Prince William rehearses for his speech at the Earthshot Awards ceremony.

Chris Jackson/Getty Images for Earthshot

Build a world without waste was presented by actress Lana Condor for S4S Technologies from India. They manufacture solar-powered dryers and processing equipment to combat food waste, enabling small farmers to preserve crops and turn produce that might otherwise be thrown away into valuable products.

Prince William talks to Hannah Waddingham and Sterling K. Brown at the Earthshot Awards in Singapore.

Chris Jackson/Getty Images for Earthshot

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Earthshot Prize entitled Fix our climate was Boomitra. It works in South America, Asia and Africa to remove emissions and increase farmers’ profits by encouraging land restoration through a proven carbon credit market. The company’s Aadith Moorthy said on the show: “To really move the needle on climate change . . with the Earthshot award and support, not just financial but acceleration support, we aim to do just that to enable all farmers around the world, and especially across the Global South, to be a key part of the solution to keeping this planet intact.”

Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education