Prince William, the Prince of Wales, joined celebrities from across the world at the Earthshot Prize awards in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, before the United Nations Climate Summit COP30
Prince William playfully joked with Brazilian football icon Cafu last night.
The Prince of Wales, 43, chatted with the two-time World Cup winner, among other celebrities after the Earthshot Prize awards in Rio de Janeiro. William, who supports Aston Villa, cheekily said: “We played football together yesterday and I beat him.”
Photographs had showed the prince kicking a ball around with the former Roma defender, 55, at the Maracanã Stadium in Rio de Janeiro earlier this week. The stars were seen smiling and laughing as they played the sport with a group of children, who were selected from schools in and around the Maracanã area of Rio.
William referred to this occasion at the Earthshot Prize awards, teasing Cafu he outshone the former Brazil international. He gestured to Cafu, who was stood alongside awards presenter Sebastian Vettel on the red carpet after the ceremony itself.
Several matches – including the final – of the 2014 World Cup were played at the Maracanã Stadium, which seats more than 73,000. Germany won the tournament, beating Argentina 1-0 in the final. Brazil came fourth, having been knocked out by Germany 7-1.
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William was later spotted singing along as Kylie Minogue closed the show with a high-energy medley of her hits Padam, Can’t get you out of my Head and a cover of Celebration by Kool and the Gang. After the ceremony, he thanked Kylie, Gilberto Gil and Seu Jorge for performing.
“Thank you so much, honestly, the whole thing was fantastic,” the Prince told Kylie, commenting on the fact that “everyone was up and dancing.”
The singer congratulated him on the ceremony, saying she had watched from her dressing room and praising “the energy from the crowd”. William then appeared to suggest Kylie could perform at another Earthshot Prize ceremony in future. She told him: “It’s a deal.”
The Prince of Wales was also invited to return to Brazil by indigenous environmental activist Txai Surui, who said she wanted him to see the work being done to protect her ancestral land in the Amazon.
Dad-of-three William also joined the five winners backstage. He said: “Congratulations! I hope you were all surprised?”
“When I saw you earlier I had to keep a straight face – I knew what was happening. Did you get to enjoy it or were you just a bag of nerves? You should be so proud of yourselves. All the finalists are winners, but you guys, the little things that you do just tipped it over the edge.”
The prince said this year’s cohort had been “so hard to judge,” adding: “It took three and a half hours of just going round and round. A lot of really good debate happened, but you guys were the clear winners in the end.”
William also spoke to Ed Miliband, Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change and Mayor of London Sadiq Khan, along with Earthshot Prize Council Members Wanjira Mathai, Nemonte Nenquimo, Naoko Yamazaki and Hindou Ibrahim.
