Earthshot Prize 2021: Who are the winners and how much is the prize fund?

The winners were announced in a livestream from Alexandra Palace on Sunday 17th October.

Last night, celebrities gathered at Alexandra Palace for Prince William’s inaugural eco-conscious awards ceremony.

Famous faces like Emma Watson, Dame Emma Thompson, and David Oyelowo attended, with musical performances from Ed Sheeran, Coldplay, and KSI.

Naturally, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge also attended the star-studded event.

Here’s all you need to know about the environmental awards and why they attracted so many big names.

What is the Earthshot Prize?

This is the first year of a ten decade-long prize, set up by the Duke of Cambridge and the Royal Foundation.

The Earthshot Prize seeks to reward people around the world trying to save the planet.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge attend the Earthshot Prize 2021 at Alexandra Palace. Photo: Alberto Pezzali - WPA Pool / Getty Images.

It takes its name from the phrase ‘Moonshot’, used in the 1960s in the United States by President John F Kennedy as part of his pledge to get a man on the Moon within the next decade.

Similarly, the Duke of Cambridge has stated that he sees the next ten years from now to be crucial when it comes to environmental conservation efforts.

There are five categories, each putting the spotlight on a different project:

- Protect and Restore Nature

Attendees were encouraged to think of the impact that the clothes they wore had on the environment and no one was flown in to London just to attend the event, in order to keep the ceremony as eco-friendly as possible. Photo : Yui Mok - WPA Pool/Getty Images.

- Clean our Air

- Revive our Oceans

- Build a Waste-Free World

- Fix our Climate

Each of these categories is designed to link with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.

Judges, including broadcaster Sir David Attenborough, actress Cate Blanchett and singer Shikira, selected the winners from a shortlist.

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Who funds the Earthshot Prize?

Each year for the next ten years, £1 million will be awarded to each category winner.

This is funded by the Duke of Cambridge’s Royal Foundation.

Who are the Earthshot Prize 2021 winners?

In its very first year, the Earthshot Prize was awarded to five unique projects.

Costa Rica won the Protect and Restore Nature category for the country's work in combating deforestation, with focus on a project that pays locals to restore natural ecosystems in the rainforest.

Next was the Clean our Air category, which went to a portable machine from Takachar, India, that turns agricultural waste into fertiliser, meaning farmers can reduce their air pollution by not burning their fields.

Two friends in Coral Vita in the Bahamas won Revive our Oceans, a project designed to restore coral reefs around the world. Special tanks help coral grow up to 50 times faster than normal, helping to repopulate the reefs.

The city of Milan Food Waste Hubs took home the prize for the Build a Waste-Free World category for their initiative of collecting unused food and giving it to people in need.

Finally, an international design for the AEM Electrolyser from Thailand, Germany, and Italy won the Fix our Climate category. The project can generate renewable energy by splitting water molecules into hydrogen and oxygen.

Where is Earthshot filmed?

Alongside the inaugural awards, the Duke of Cambridge also teamed up with Sir David Attenborough for a five-part series on Discovery Plus.

Named ‘The Earthshot Prize: Repairing Our Planet’, each episode reflects a different category from the awards.

The show is made to highlight the 15 finalists and their work and was therefore filmed around the globe, travelling to the project sites in question.

All five episodes are available to watch on BBC iPlayer, along with the Earthshot Prize ceremony.

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