The Prince of Wales arrived in Singapore for the Earthshot Prize awards ceremony on Sunday, and received a rock star welcome at the Changi Airport.
SINGAPORE (Commonwealth Union)_ Prince William is presently flying solo in Singapore for the Earthshot Awards, and while the main event is Tuesday’s glittering ceremony, the appearance of Prince of Wales’ on Monday at a ceremony honouring the nominees prompted an emotional response from one business owner.
The Prince of Wales arrived in Singapore on Sunday where he received a rock star welcome at the Changi Airport – home to the world’s largest indoor waterfall, illuminated in green for the occasion) amidst dozens of people waving British flags who welcomed the prince to Asia while the prince gamely posed for selfies.
Prince William will attend the awards ceremony for the 2023 Earthshot Prize, which is an initiative he launched in 2020 to drive ground-breaking solutions to the world’s largest environmental challenges over this decade during his visit.
The 15 finalists for the annual Earthshot Prize who come from six continents, were selected from more than 1,100 entries.
What is the Earthshot Prize?
The Earthshot Prize launched in October 2020, is based on five ‘Earthshot’ goals: Protect and restore nature; Fix our climate; Clean our air; Revive our oceans; Build a waste-free world.
While the royal looked smart as always in his trademark navy suit, it was his tie that got people talking. Prince William finished off his formal look with a floral print tie, made from plastic bottles, created by the Italian brand Wilmok, and the founder of the ties was overcome with emotion when he discovered he had the royal seal of approval.
What are Wilmok ties?
Prince William’s floral print tie costing £40 is made from 100% recycled plastic, with each item recycling approximately 3.5 plastic bottles.
The website states that their mission is to create high-end sustainable fashion accessories at revolutionary prices while helping underprivileged children achieve their dreams.
Prince William used his Singapore tripto hold bilateral meetings with the country’s president and prime minister prior to Tuesday’s Earthshot Prize awards ceremony.
According to palace aides, Orubce William discussed climate issues and how his Earthshot Prize aims to find real solutions to save the planet during two “warm” and “constructive” thirty-minute meetings with President Tharman Shanmugaratnam and Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.
Prince William thanked President Tharman, during his meeting with him for Singapore’s hospitality in hosting the Earthshot Prize. An aide said that President Tharman remarked how impressive the finalists were and the technology that was utilized by them, and that the Prince talked about the importance of scaling the finalists and their solutions.
President Tharman spoke about the importance that Singapore was placing on increased renewables, while the Prince of Wales discussed young people’s aspirations for the planet with Prime Minister Lee who also remarked on how impressive this year’s finalists are.
Tuesday’s ceremony event awarded Acción Andina, GRST, WildAid Marine Program, S4S Technologies, and Boomitra each £1 million in prize money to help them fund their initiatives. The organizations were selected out of 15 finalists from six continents from a group of 1,300 nominees. The Earthshot Prize now in its third year, aims to discover and help scale the world’s most innovative climate and environmental solutions to protect and restore the planet.
The 5 initiatives that the prize is centered around are called “earth shots”: protect and restore nature, clean our air, revive our oceans, build a waste-free world and fix our climate.
Winners receive in addition to the prize money, mentorship, resources, and technical support from the Earthshot Prize Fellowship Programme to accelerate the growth of their ground-breaking solutions.
The ceremony was hosted by Hannah Waddingham, English actor and attended by actress and environmentalist Cate Blanchett who has described the solutions by this year’s finalists as “game-changing.”
