Prince William reveals heartwrenching reason for love of Africa ahead of Earthshot Prize

Prince William has arrived in Cape Town, South Africa, for his fourth annual Earthshot Prize Awards, which take place on Wednesday - and ahead of touching down on the continent, he spoke of why Africa holds a special place in his heart

Prince William has spoken of his many fond memories in Africa ahead of his return to the continent for his Earthshot Prize awards.

In an emotional message ahead of the ceremony, he touched on the solace he found in Africa after the tragic death of his late mother, Princess Diana, and also told of the joy he felt when he proposed to his wife Kate when holidaying in Kenya in 2010. Today he arrived in South Africa ahead of the fourth instalment of his global environmental awards, which hands out individual prizes of £1million to five winners each year over a decade.

William has explained how he came up with the idea to find planet-saving solutions to the world’s most pressing climate matters during a private visit to Namibia and an encounter with a lone, endangered white rhino.

The awards will see a stunning musical performance on the Lion King musical on top of the iconic Table Mountain, with Cape Town landmarks set to light up green for the opening ceremony. William will be joined by 1,000 South Africans alongside special guests during the Ceremony at the purpose-built Earthshot Prize Dome in the heart of Cape Town.

Guests will be welcomed on the world’s longest ‘Green Carpet’ event being broadcast live to showcase sustainable fashion and celebrate African design. Speaking ahead of his visit William said: "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." Based on the President John F Kennedy 'Moonshot' concept during the 1960s space race to put man on the moon, William created five ‘Earthshots’ to launch and promote five planet saving ideas each year.

The project has gone even further since being created in 2021, supporting dozens of finalists with a Dragon’s Den style support network linking them with investors around the globe to make their ideas come to life.

Events have been held in London, Boston and Singapore and will be hosted in Cape Town this week marking a landmark visit to the African continent. The Prince said his ambition is to join innovators and investors together to inspire people to “reshape the future of our planet”.

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. A third of the 15 finalists are also from across the continent.

Over 80 per cent of African countries were also represented in the shortlist. William added: "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.”

During the week in Cape Town, William will have an audience with Cyril Ramaphosa, the South African president, play some rugby, attend a United for Wildlife summit, take to the water with sea rescue volunteers and enjoy some local cuisine at a traditional fish braai in Kalk Bay Harbour.

The five Winners of this year’s Earthshot Prize will be unveiled during the Awards Ceremony on Wednesday evening. 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.

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, more than 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 livestreamed Green Carpet Event, which will be broadcast 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 to highlight the importances of sustainable fashion and local creatives.