Pop princess Kylie Minogue hailed the Prince of Wales’ Earthshot Prize finalists as she joined a host of stars celebrating the achievements of the environmental entrepreneurs.
The singer trod the green carpet at the black-tie awards ceremony staged in Rio de Janeiro to recognise inventors and innovators who have developed solutions to help “repair” the planet.
Famed for hits like Padam Padam and Can’t Get You Out Of My Head, the singer said the 15 finalists were: “Amazing people doing incredible things.”
Kylie posed on the green carpet with William and her fellow performers on the night: Canadian global star Shawn Mendes and Rio musical legend Seu Jorge and Queen of Brazilian pop Anitta.
Mendes thanked the prince for the kindness he showed to his mother saying, “She’s still shaking, thank you,” in reply William explained he heard it was her birthday and arranged for a cake with candles to mark her big day.
Also among the guests was Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and energy secretary Ed Milliband who will attend the Cop30 climate summit in the Amazon with the prince on Thursday.
William’s project is halfway through its decades long cycle to recognise and reward issues and ideas to help save the planet and the event has already been staged in London, Singapore, Cape Town and Boston.
He has managed to attract a host of stars to his cause, from Hollywood stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Matthew McConaughey and Cate Blanchett, to broadcaster and naturalist Sir David Attenborough and former prime minister of New Zealand, Jacinda Ardern.
Awards are presented in five categories, or Earthshots: protect and restore nature; clean our air; revive our oceans; build a waste-free world; and fix our climate.
The initiative was inspired by former US president John F Kennedy’s Moonshot project which set scientists the challenge of placing an astronaut on the moon and returning him safely – and in the process helped advance mankind.
William also launched Earthshot to channel positive action around the issue and spoke about the next generation of environmentalists during an event ahead of the ceremony.
He said: “I think the Earthshot rise is a classic example of change. Rather than talk about it, we’re doing it, and that’s where I want it to be.”
Speaking at the Earthshot discussion event attend by some of the finalists he added: “These people in here are the true action heroes of our time and change will come by backing them, not by what I do.
“And so I want to surround myself with people who want to make change and do good in the world.”
