For two consecutive years, the Royal Albert Hall and Manchester's Bridgewater Hall fell silent in the same breath. Ballerinas, aerialists, guitarists and spoken-word poets wove a living narrative alongside a theatrical feature from Everyone's Talking About Jamie, while The Dying Swan performed against Elizabeth Hoff's haunting cinema on ocean plastic pollution. Every element - including Patrick McDonald's sustainably sourced garments bearing QR codes revealing each piece's hidden origin - was choreographed to shape emotion and inspire action.

The delegates didn't witness a ceremony. They felt one.