Prince William led celebrities, philanthropists and world leaders on a green carpet at his Earthshot Prize awards in Brazil.

The awards at Rio’s Museum of Tomorrow on Nov. 5 were the glitzy crescendo of his three-day stay in Rio de Janeiro, and he welcomed singers and supporters to honor the latest winners of his prestigious awards.

Dressed in a Tom Ford tuxedo and bow tie that was already in his closet, the Prince of Wales, 43, arrived at the event, greeted by cheers and the sound of a Samba band and Carnival dancers.

Following tradition, he was offered the flag of the Samba School, Beja-Flor, by performer Selminha Sorriso and kissed it before joining his hands in a gesture of thanks for the warm welcome.

He also greeted some of the performers for the event. Kylie Minogue to Shawn Mendes chatted with the royal before heading inside, both voicing support for Australia to host the Earthshot Prize awards next.

William also posed for a group photo with Minogue, Mendes and fellow performers Seu Jorge and Anitta.

Prince William also met with Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who attended the event.

The glittering awards evening was the fifth in his decade-long campaign to find solutions to counter the world’s problems. The awards evening rewarded innovators in five categories.

It came after a busy few days that saw Prince William visit some of the best-known landmarks in South America as he raised awareness of his environmental project.

Shortly after arriving on Nov. 3 via a commercial flight from London, William was taken to the stunning Sugarloaf Mountain, looking down over the city’s shoreline, as he was welcomed by the city’s Mayor Eduardo Paes. Then, he visited with kids from districts across the city who take part in a project to use soccer to promote the best practices to care for the climate and nature.

On Nov. 4, he highlighted the work of indigenous communities to safeguard some of the threatened environments, like mangroves.

Former New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, who serves as a trustee on the board of the Earthshot Prize, tells PEOPLE that Prince William is constantly trying to help the prize winners and finalists expand their ideas five years into the project.

“It’s been, ‘How do we do more? How do we scale? How do we better support the finalists?’ That mission hasn’t changed — just the urgency of why it exists has,” she says.

Speaking to the event coming to Brazil, she adds, “Every place — and I think this is one of the reasons that the Prize moves — because every place brings with it something different because it is so localized. But, you know, the Earthshot prize is a global prize.  The climate crisis affects all of us. It makes sense that the prize moves and showcases some of the local efforts, some of the national efforts.”

Eduardo Paes, the mayor of Rio, who has spent much of the last few days with William, tells PEOPLE, “He’s an amazing guy. It’s been very nice to see. He took everyone’s heart in Rio, and we’re very proud to have him here. I told him he could have Earthshot Prize every year in Rio, it would be amazing. We are very proud to host him here.”

He adds, “It is such an important discussion in a moment when Brazil is playing an important role in this issue.”

He spoke about William’s reflections on the visit. “He was amazed with the beauty of the city and the forest where it meets the city. He was pretty impressed with the buildings and the favelas and all the mixed nature of Rio. When you look at Rio, it’s amazing what you see.”

Earlier in the week, Paes lightheartedly dubbed himself the King of Rio — even though he’d given the keys to the city to William. “He has behaved perfectly,” Paes said. “He had lots of questions about the city, it’s been an amazing time. For these few days I let him be the boss and then I get back to business as usual.”

On the eve of the visit, the British ambassador to Brazil, Stephanie Al-Qaq, told PEOPLE, “To me, it seems that he is more than ready to step into that space. He’s a very credible voice. And I think that I would like to do my bit as His Majesty’s Ambassador to give him that platform to show what he’s capable of.”

After the Earthshot Prize awards, Prince William will represent his father, King Charles, by talking with world leaders gathering for the UN climate conference in Belém.