Why David Beckham was criticised for Earthshot Prize Awards appearance following Qatar World Cup controversy

David Beckham made an appearance at the Earthshot Prize Awards 2022 last night. The 47 year old took a break from his role as the ambassador for the Qatar World Cup and flew to Boston, to present the Build a Waste-Free World award.

While the audience at the event seemed happy to see Beckham as he took the stage with applause, viewers watching at home were not impressed with the retired footballer’s appearance with many branding him a ‘hypocrite’ on social media.

Beckham spoke to the audience before presenting the award saying: ‘Good evening, everyone. I was honoured to be asked by Prince William to be part of this year’s Earthshot Prize. Now, I’m an optimist because humans are capable of great creativity when we collaborate. ‘But, we also create waste. We make over 300million tonnes of plastic per year. That’s the equivalent, in weight, to every adult on Earth.’

The former Man-Utd player went on to praise the work of each finalist before announcing sustainable packaging start-up Notpla as the winner in the Build a Waste-Free World category. People were quick to note that Beckham is currently working in Qatar for the World Cup, which is 6,380 miles away from Boston where he flew to just to present the award.

One Twitter user said: ‘I’m only just clocking on to the fact that winners of the Earthshot Prize were asked to virtually attend the ceremony while royalty & celebrities all flew in to be there in person (don’t even get me started on David Beckham flying in from Qatar). Make it make sense! Like, what?!’

Another Twitter user wrote about Notpla’s win: ‘Well done guys and so well deserved. Shame David Beckham, ambassador to one of the most oppressive and climate wrecking countries on the planet, flew across the globe to announce it whilst you all stayed at home. He was probably back in Qatar 12 hours later.’

Another viewer wrote on Twitter: ‘David Beckham should be nowhere near this, he is literally the ambassador for the World Cup with the biggest ever carbon footprint, absolute hypocrite.’

The Earthshot Prize is given to five people for their contributions to safeguarding our planet. After first having the idea for the awards in 2018  when he was on a trip to Namibia, Tanzania and Kenya, Prince William describes it as his "Super Bowl" moment.

The prize is used as a platform each year to shine a light on some of the work people are doing to save the planet’s future. Every year until 2030 The judges will give out five prizes of £1 million making the total prize fund a massive £50 million. The money will go towards supporting environmental and conservation projects agreed with the winners.

David Beckham came under fire recently after signing a reported £10 million contract to be the ambassador for the World Cup in Qatar.Beckham has also been chosen as the face of a new multi-million pound Qatar 2022 tourism drive, with a trip lined up to the five-star resort ‘Banana Island’. The deal is reportedly worth £150 million and will last ten years.

The event in Qatar has been plagued with issues from thousands of people dying while building the World Cup stadium, to the fact that Homosexuality is illegal there. Many people were disappointed in the former Man United midfielder’s decision as he has previously been viewed as LGBT+ ally.