As Prince William prepared for the fifth Earthshot Awards in Rio, he expressed his desire to “provide leadership and vision” that inspires hope for the future. The Prince of Wales attended the Earthshot Prize Impact Assembly at Pier 3, part of a three-day summit in Rio de Janeiro. This event gathered government officials, indigenous leaders, and youth advocates to share remarkable Earthshot stories from the past year, showcasing the investments that are helping finalists expand their environmental initiatives.

In a ‘fireside chat’ with CNN anchor Christiane Amanpour, Prince William, 43, conveyed optimism for his children and the youth worldwide. He emphasized the importance of leadership that promises positive outcomes, saying, “You have to provide a leadership and a vision that there’s good things to come and it’s not all negative.” He shared a personal note about reassuring his children before bed that “the planet’s going to be in a better, healthier state because of the people in this room.” He emphasized the importance of conveying that “your future is going to be as bright as futures gone by,” a message he believes is vital for everyone to hear.

Prince William further remarked, “A world without hope and a world without positivity is a pretty depressing place.” When asked about his comments regarding changes to the monarchy and his family’s transformations, he highlighted the Earthshot Prize as a testament to proactive change. “I think the Earthshot Prize is a classic example of change, rather than talking about it, we’re doing it,” he stated. He stressed the importance of supporting the younger generation, emphasizing, “It’s really important that the next generation believe that change is coming.”

William travelled to the event on the Earthshot Prize Tram down the specially-created ‘Earthshot Boulevard’, where he was met by Earthshot chief executive Jason Knauf, who showed him a timeline of the Prize’s 5 years to date and gave an introductory speech to delegates, declaring: ‘Our 2025 finalists are transforming our world. ‘Our success is inevitable and our momentum is unstoppable.’ Ardern described the past five year’s finalists as ‘ambassadors of optimism’. The panel discussions also included Barbados’s Prime Minister Mia Mottley, Brazil ‘s environment minister Marina Silva and Jacinda Ardern , the former prime minister of New Zealand and Earthshot board trustee.

During her discussion onstage, Mottley said of global climate activism: ‘We’re going in the right direction but not fast enough. It takes cash to cure and cash to build.’ Several finalists also took to the stage to announce new deals for their initiatives, including Adam Root, the founder and CEO of Matter, whose washing machine filters remove microfibres from wastewater. Root told the assembly he has secured a multi-million pound deal with Ikea to scale up Matter’s technology internationally. Speaking to the media after the event, Ardern said: ‘This prize is making a difference. It’s not just an award, it’s a catalyst for change.’

Asked if the Prize might travel to New Zealand in the next five years, she said: ‘The goal of the Eartshot Prize is to reach every corner of the world. ‘There’s no nepotism on the board! I advocate for the region, and the region advocates very well for itself.’ This evening, William will be joined at the Earthshot Awards by the Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer, where he will give a landmark speech at the Museum of Tomorrow, hailing the finalists’ work to create solutions to some of the world’s biggest environmental challenges. It comes after the prince yesterday received a gift of three matching football shirts for his children ahead of the Earthshot Prize awards.

The Prince of Wales visited the iconic Maracanã Stadium – Brazil ‘s ‘temple of football’ – for a Generation Earthshot event with 75 young people from across the region, which aims to help them to become future climate leaders. Football fan William was presented with his own hand-signed football shirt from former Brazilian player Cafu. The future king told the player: ‘It’s an honour. We’ve all seen how your feet work.’ William, a keen Aston Villa supporter, also received three football tops for Prince George, 12, Princess Charlotte, 10, and Prince Louis, seven, who have remained at home after moving into their ‘forever home’, Forest Lodge in Windsor, last week.

The Fluminese Generation Earthshot shirts featured green, red and white stripes and were personalised with each of the children’s names – though, rather awkwardly, Louis’s was misspelt as ‘Loui’. The Wales children will no doubt be thrilled with their father’s gifts from abroad, as all three are known to be huge football fans. Prince George, for example, appears to be following in his father’s footsteps as a fan of Aston Villa, and the pair have attended several matches together.

During the engagement, William and Cafu later teamed up with some kids to play against each other on the pitch, before William ran drills with the children and took a successful penalty kick. William also took part in discussions with young people from Brazil, South Africa and Asia who are meeting in Rio to develop skills to become climate leaders under his Generation Earthshot program. ‘We need a bit more courage. We need you guys to keep that energy going. If we wait for good leaders we are going to wait a long time. You guys are my hope,’ William said after he questioned young people on the problems their communities face and the projects they are working on to help the planet.