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.”
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.
