The winners of this year’s singapore prize were announced tonight at a ceremony at the Mediacorp Theatre. The Prince walked the green carpet to celebrate the five winners who use their innovation to tackle issues such as nature protection, clean air, ocean revival and waste elimination. He said the innovative solutions demonstrated by the finalists show “hope does remain” in the face of climate change. Other celebrity guests included actors Donnie Yen and Nomzano Mbatha and Australian wildlife conservationist Robert Irwin.
Athletes who dream of competing at the highest level of sport invest an enormous amount in their training over a number of years. But a very small proportion of them will end up on the podium at a major event like an Olympic Games. To address this, the Singapore National Olympic Council came up with an incentive scheme in the 1990s. Now known as the Major Games Award Programme, it rewards medal-winning athletes with cash awards.
This year’s awards ceremony took place at the Mediacorp Theatre, with Prince William and three-time Emmy winning actor Hannah Waddingham as hosts. The ceremony also featured performances by musicians and artists. The Prince congratulated the winners and emphasized the importance of supporting youth in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) fields. He encouraged young people to become role models and share their achievements with others.
The awards were inspired by President John F Kennedy’s 1962 challenge to the US to reach the moon by 2030, and are designed to accelerate the solutions needed to repair the planet. The Prize is supported by Temasek Trust, the Government of Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund, and the private sector sponsors of the prize, GenZero and Conservation International.
A few hours before the award ceremony, PGA Tour golfer Tiger Woods was awarded the prize money for winning his second title of the season at the Tournament of Champions in Maui. He was the first player to ever win both titles in the same season and earned a total of $3 million for his victory, including $1 million for winning the winner-take-all bonus. Other winners included Abraham Ancer, Dean Burmester and Brendan Steele.
On the arts front, graphic novelist Sonny Liew continues to receive international acclaim for his book on the history of Singapore, which was recently named a finalist for three Eisner awards, considered to be the Oscars of the comic world. He will receive a special prize during the singapore prize ceremony next month.
This year’s prize has 12 winners, a record for this biennial literary prize that is held in Singapore’s four main languages of Chinese, Malay, Tamil and English. Winners were selected from 43 shortlisted entries in the Chinese, Malay, Tamil and English categories. Each winner received a cheque for $3,000 and a commissioned trophy. A full list of the winners and their works can be found here.
