From his difficult teenage years to his marriage proposal, Prince William has talked about the importance of Africa in his life journey so far as he prepares to fly to Cape Town for his annual Earthshot Awards.
The Prince will spend next week in South Africa, but wants to celebrate the efforts of the entire African continent when it comes to tackling the climate crisis.
Explaining how Africa was the birthplace for the idea of the environmental prize, 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.”
This year marks the fourth year of the ten-year award programme.
Launched in 2021, it celebrates the entrepreneurs and startups coming up with innovative solutions to the greatest environmental challenges.
It awards five winners every year with £1m each.
This year’s event, described as Prince William’s “Super Bowl moment”, will take place in The Earthshot Prize Dome.
The purpose-built venue beside Cape Town Stadium is the biggest of its kind in Africa and twice as long as a rugby pitch.
It uses a structure designed and engineered in South Africa, which has been used previously and will be used again for future events in the country.
The organisers have also revealed how Cape Town’s Table Mountain will feature in the show, with an exclusive performance by Lebo M of Circle of Life from The Lion King, pre-recorded at the top.
It is the first time that such a performance has been recorded at the city’s most iconic site.
Africa was chosen to host this year’s event to acknowledge the enormous contribution being made by African innovators.
Despite contributing the least to global warming and having the lowest emissions, it’s the most vulnerable continent to the impacts of climate change.
Yet in the face of these challenges, nearly all African countries have committed to enhancing climate action through reducing their greenhouse gas emissions and building climate resilience.
Prince William will be travelling to Cape Town without the Princess of Wales, following her cancer diagnosis and decision to gradually return to royal duties since she finished her preventative chemotherapy.
Writing about what he hopes this solo trip will achieve, William said: “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”.