We are getting ready to launch Longitude Prize 2014, a challenge with a multi-million pound prize fund to help solve one of the greatest issues of our time.

The Longitude Prize 2014 marks the 300th anniversary year of the Longitude Act, when the British government threw down the gauntlet to solve the greatest scientific challenge of the century – how to pinpoint a ship’s location at sea by knowing its longitude.

This time it will be the British public, rather than the government, who will decide which one of six major issues facing humanity, shortlisted by a Longitude Committee chaired by Astronomer Royal Lord Martin Rees, should become the focus of Longitude Prize 2014.

Tune in to BBC Two's 50th birthday episode of Horizon9pm on Thursday, 22 May, to find out more and cast your vote!

The Longitude Prize 2014 from Nesta UK on Vimeo.

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