British royalty is visiting Boston this week, and it’s bringing some pop royalty along with them. Billie Eilish, Annie Lennox, Ellie Goulding, and Beyoncé protégés Chloe x Halle will perform live this Friday (December 2) at MGM Music Hall at Fenway for an invitation-only ceremony for The Earthshot Prize Awards 2022, a global environmental initiative created last year by The Royal Foundation and Prince William.
At Friday’s event on Lansdowne Street, five recipients from a list of 15 finalists will be selected and awarded more than $1 million to help further their ideas to find solutions to repair the planet over the next decade. And while tickets will not be sold for the ceremony, it will be broadcast via PBS, according to earthshotprize.org, first online at PBS.org and on the PBS app at 2 p.m. ET, and then on the PBS YouTube channel at 8 p.m. PBS will broadcast the event on December 14.
The ceremony caps a three-day event for Prince William and Kate Middleton, Princess of Wales, who will hold court at several locations this week around the city, including the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, and meet with Boston Mayor Michelle Wu.
Friday’s show boasts some impressive star power. The opening will be voiced by famed broadcaster Sir David Attenborough, and Cate Blanchett will be on-hand to narrate a recap of the 2021 winners. Actors Rami Malek, Catherine O’Hara, and Shailene Woodley will also present awards.
Malek says, via a press release: “The 15 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.”
Amongst the 15 finalists are a Kenya-based cleaner-burning stove initiative; a Netherlands-based bubble barrier to protect oceans from plastic; and an England-based packaging proposal that uses seaweed and plants instead of single-use plastic.
Adds 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 honored to lend my voice in support of this ambitious mission.”
Check out a video recapping last year’s inaugural event below, and more info on all the events happening this week can be found here.