Lagos Fashion Week wins category at annual Earthshot awards ceremony

Brazilian and foreign celebrities joined Britain’s Prince William in Rio at a star-studded ceremony in Rio de Janeiro to announce the winners of this year’s environmental Earthshot Prize.

Launched in 2020 by the heir to the British throne together with biologist and natural historian David Attenborough, it recognises environmental innovators.

The ceremony began with the sound of samba and featured musical performances from Anitta, Gilberto Gil, Shawn Mendes, Kylie Minogue and Seu Jorge, who interpreted David Bowie's song Heroes.

This year saw nearly 2,500 nominees submitted from 72 countries with 3 finalists named for each of the 5 categories.

Winner for Build a Waste-free World was Nigeria’s Lagos Fashion Week which is transforming of the world’s most wasteful industry by creating a new fashion economy.

The other winners were:

Brazilian startup re.green, which restores forests with the help of artificial intelligence.

Bangladeshi non-profit organization Friendship, which assists vulnerable communities across the country prepare for natural disasters.

Colombia's capital, Bogota, for its clean air policies.

The United Nations High Seas Treaty, which seeks to protect marine environments outside of national jurisdictions.

The event came days before the opening of the annual United Nations climate summit – which this year also takes place in Brazil.

Prince William, who will be attending COP30, expressed optimism about tackling global environmental challenges but cautioned that there is no time for complacency.