Prince William Addresses Earthshot Prize Innovation Summit 2022
Prince William Addresses Earthshot Prize Innovation Summit 2022

The Prince and Princess of Whales, Prince William and Kate Middleton, are among the big names arriving in Boston for Friday's Earthshot Prize awards, an annual ceremony celebrating environmental innovators.

The Earthshot Prize awards five winners based on their inventive contributions to environmentalism based on the group's environmental goals, which is "to uncover and scale the innovative solutions that will repair our planet within the next 10 years," according to the Earthshot website.

"We use a fair and rigorous process to search, select, accelerate, award and scale the best and most ingenious solutions to repair and regenerate our planet while simultaneously nurturing eco-innovators and their impact," the website added.

The five winners are chosen among 15 finalists, and the winners are each presented £1 million ($1.2 million U.S.) to put toward their efforts. Finalists who do not win will be given resources to develop their projects and research.

"People can achieve great things," Prince William said about the prize on the event's website. "The next ten years present us with one of our greatest tests – a decade of action to repair the Earth."

The Earthshot Prize, which was established by Prince William, was inspired by former President John F. Kennedy's famous 1962 "MoonShot" speech to put a man on the moon by the end of the decade. The award began in 2020 and will continue till 2030, with 50 total winners and £50 million in total prizes presented.

The awards will be held on Friday at the MGM Music Hall in Boston, which is being highlighted for the city's moves toward sustainability and environmental protection. Last year's awards ceremony was held in London.

The Prince and Princess of Whales are arriving Wednesday. They will travel around the Boston metro area, visiting the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, Greentown Labs, the Harvard University Center on the Developing Child, and Roca, a non-profit focusing on young people, poverty, and racism, according to the Boston Globe.

Friday's awards ceremony will be a star-studded affair, with Billie Eilish, Ellie Goulding, Chloe, Halley Bailey, and Annie Lennox performing. Princess Kate will be a presenter, and Prince William and Sir David Attenborough are giving the closing remarks. Other presenters are actors Rami Malek, Shaline Woodley, and Catherine O'Hara.

Broadcaster and presenter Clara Amfo and actor, producer, and director Daniel Dae Kim will host the awards ceremony. It will stream on the BBC on Sunday, Dec. 4, in the UK, as well as on PBS and the PBS Youtube Channel. It will be available on Youtube on Dec. 4 worldwide, and on Multichoice channels in Africa on Dec. 5.