The Prince of Wales expressed his desire to “offer leadership and vision for a promising future” as he prepared for the fifth annual Earthshot Awards in Rio. Prince William participated in the Earthshot Prize Impact Assembly at Pier 3, a key event of the three-day Earthshot summit. This gathering brought together government officials, indigenous leaders, and young advocates to share inspirational Earthshot stories from the past year and spotlight investments that are aiding finalists in expanding their environmental solutions.

In a candid conversation with event host Christiane Amanpour from CNN, the 43-year-old Prince discussed maintaining a positive outlook for his children and the youth globally. He stated, “You must provide leadership and a vision that promises a brighter future, rather than focusing solely on the negatives.” He emphasized telling his children that the planet’s future will be healthier due to the efforts of those involved in the Earthshot Prize. He reassures them at bedtime with the message, “Your future is going to be as bright as any that have come before, and that’s a crucial message for everyone to hear.”

William further remarked, “A world devoid of hope and positivity is indeed a bleak place.” When questioned about his recent comments on changes within the monarchy and family, he responded, “The Earthshot Prize exemplifies change through action rather than words. Real change will come by supporting those who are making it happen, not just through my actions.” He stressed the importance of the next generation believing that change is on the horizon.

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.