Movie stars, beloved singers, one of the world’s most famous environmentalists and now a world-famous soccer player are some of the people who will walk the green — not red — carpet in Boston Friday afternoon for Prince William and Princess Catherine’s second-ever Earthshot Prize Awards.
MGM Music Hall in Fenway is hosting the awards show, at which five people and organizations will each receive $1 million for their environmental projects. It’s the star-studded culmination of the royals’ three-day visit to Boston.
David Beckham, the retired English soccer player and MLS team owner with a massive social media following, is a late addition to the list of presenters, Kensington Palace confirmed to NBC10 Boston Friday.
Billie Eilish is among the singers who will take the stage, and Oscar-winning actor Rami Malek will be presenting one of the awards, along with Princess Catherine and other stars.
The former England and Real Madrid player waited in line for 12 hours to see Queen Elizabeth II’s coffin.
Inspired by President John F. Kennedy’s Moonshot, which sent man to the moon, the Earthshot Prize was founded by Prince William to honor groundbreaking solutions to environmental issues. The British royals will be in town through Friday, when the awards ceremony will take place.
The awards show will be co-hosted by actor Daniel Dae Kim and British TV presenter Clara Amfo, which won’t air in the U.S. until Monday.
Performing along with Eilish and her brother, Finneas, will be Annie Lennox, Chloe x Halle and Ellie Goulding, according to a news release. Other celebrities presenting awards include actors Catherine O’Hara and Shailene Woodley.
Sir David Attenborough, the naturalist and documentary filmmaker behind shows like “Planet Earth,” will appear in the ceremony, and Prince William will give a speech closing out the show.
Mayor Michelle Wu’s office issued a media advisory Monday morning, saying that she will meet the royal couple for a welcome event Wednesday at City Hall Plaza.
Many of the participants released statements about their participation in the Earthshot Prize Awards.
Malek: “The fifteen Finalists of this year’s Earthshot Prize are deeply inspiring. They are dedicating their lives to building solutions that will repair our planet, and I can’t wait to present an award to one of the incredible Winners for 2022.”
Woodley: “It is an honour to be a presenter at this year’s Earthshot Prize Awards. The Finalists are extraordinary, and I am thrilled to play a part in helping to spotlight their incredible solutions and the inspiring work they do every day.”
Lennox: “The urgent need to protect and restore our Earth’s damaged environmental systems is essential for future survival. The objective of The Earthshot Prize is powerful in terms of building a ‘Waste-Free World’ and ‘Reviving Our Oceans.’ I’m therefore honoured to lend my voice in support of this ambitious mission.”
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Prince William and Princess Catherine had announced last summer that they would be coming to Boston in December for the Earthshot ceremony, and confirmed the date earlier this month. The original announcement included a video from Boston Red Sox shortstop Xander Bogaerts, standing in the outfield at Fenway Park.
The Earthshot prize was founded by Prince William and The Royal Foundation in 2020. It was inspired by and with a name echoing President John F. Kennedy’s 1961 challenge to America to land a man on the moon by that decade’s end, and aims to “discover and scale the best solutions to help repair our planet within the next decade,” according to a release.
Kate Middleton and Prince William posed for their…
Read More: William and Kate Celebrity Guests at Earthshot Prize Awards – NBC Boston