When it comes to Prince William’s Earthshot busywork, nothing beats the absolute tone-deaf catastrophe of the 2022 Earthshot Prize ceremony in Boston. Kensington Palace arranged for celebrities like Rami Malek, Ellie Goulding, Annie Lennox, and Billie Eilish to attend the awards ceremony, yet none of the nominees or winners were invited to appear in person. William got the prize winners to Zoom into the show, because he didn’t want to have to interact with poor people while he was trying to hang out with celebrities. The backlash wasn’t as loud as it should have been, but William still felt that sting. He actually invited the nominees to last year’s Earthshot ceremony, and the nominees are invited to attend this year’s ceremony in person, in South Africa. But what about poor William? He’s only doing this to hang out with celebrities, remember? Well, thankfully, they hired several models to hang out with Huevo.
The Prince of Wales has enlisted the help of world famous supermodels to fly the flag for his Earthshot Prize. Heidi Klum and Winnie Harlow are among the high profile guests who will be walking the green carpet at the fourth annual award ceremony in Cape Town next month. The models will be among those to announce the next five winners of the prestigious £1 million prize – an award for contributions to environmentalism.
The ceremony will be hosted by Billy Porter, an American actor, who is likely to add a flamboyant air to proceedings alongside Bonang Matheba, the South African broadcaster.Other guests will include Robert Irwin, the son of the late Steve Irwin, who became an Earthshot global ambassador last year.
Organisers are aiming to harness what they describe as an “explosion” of innovation on the continent which saw a huge increase in nominations for this year’s prize. The award ceremony will feature an array of African household names, many of whom are lesser known in the UK but have been brought on board to help whip up interest across the region.
Harlow, 30, who was diagnosed with vitiligo at the age of four, has enjoyed huge success after appearing on America’s Next Top Model. In 2016, she was photobombed by Prince Harry during a charity polo match in Berkshire, later sharing the image on social media. She has her own vegan and “reef safe” skincare range called Cay Skin. Reef safe is a term used to describe sunscreens that do not contain chemicals known to damage coral and marine life.
Klum, 51, has also championed sustainable fashion, warning that there was much work still to be done in the industry. The Earthshot ceremony will be broadcast in 50 markets across Africa in the midst of “Earthshot Week” in which Prince William will undertake a series of engagements in Cape Town focused on the urgent need for environmental solutions.
Last year, Cate Blanchett and Hannah Waddingham were flown all the way to Singapore to pose with William on the carpet. Because, remember, Kate didn’t go to last year’s ceremony. Kate won’t be going to this year’s ceremony either, and it’s not even a conversation unlike last year. They’re just like… oh, of course, this is completely natural, William wants to hang around models, of course. I wonder if he had a list of models and Heidi and Winnie were the only ones who said yes. Also: “The ceremony will be hosted by Billy Porter, an American actor, who is likely to add a flamboyant air to proceedings…” It’s 2024, we don’t need “flamboyant” euphemisms. We know Billy Porter is gay! He’s out! He’s been out for years.
Photos courtesy of Cover Images.