The Earthshot Prize will hold its annual ceremony in Mumbai,
India later this year, it has been announced. And it’s raised
questions about whether the Princess of Wales could return to the
award ceremony as Prince William has chosen a country she’s shared
her love for several times.
The announcement comes as Mumbai celebrates its inaugural Mumbai
Climate Week, with Prince William saying about the country’s
leadership on climate efforts, “What succeeds in India at scale
has the power to inspire progress everywhere.”
arrives in Rio for the Earthshot Prize Kensington Royal/
Four previous
Earthshot Prize winners are from India, as are seven finalists, the
most of any country in the world. Since the prize’s creation in
2020, there have been more than 5,600 ideas presented to the
nominating council and £25 million presented to five winners each
year to help scale up their projects.
In a statement shared by The Earthshot Prize, Prince William
said “We must continue to look to the future with urgency and
optimism, which is why I am delighted that Mumbai will host The
Earthshot Prize 2026.”
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, the Chief Minister of
Maharashtra, shared his pride in announcing that Mumbai would be
this year’s host city for the Earthshot Prize, saying that it will
“create global attention for India’s leadership and commitment
to turning our goals into meaningful action on the
ground.”
Fadnavis added that Mumbai “represents the environmental
opportunities facing the world today” and their climate and
environmental focus proves “that environmental responsibility can
drive economic growth.”
Mumbai’s announcement as the next prize location came during an
event with India’s previous finalists and winners, amongst leaders
in business, politics, science and the arts, where they discussed
their solutions and how they’re working to scale up their work.
William and Kate visited India in 2016 with the Princess of
Wales revealing at the time that she had long wanted to spend time
in the country. Now, as the Earthshot Prize heads to Mumbai, it’s
raised the question of whether Kate will be with William for the
ceremony which will take place later this year.
The Earthshot Prize has previously held its awards
in London, Boston, Singapore, Cape Town, and
Rio de Janeiro. Each year, 15 finalists are nominated in five
categories that focus on a different climate action to help find
solutions for climate and nature issues.
