Mads Nissen / World Press Photo of the Year
The World Press Photo Foundation is pleased to announce the 2021 Photo Contest winners.
The 2021 World Press Photo Contest winners across the eight categories are 45 photographers from 28 countries: Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Bangladesh, Belarus, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, France, Greece, India, Indonesia, Italy, Iran, Ireland, Mexico, Myanmar, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the Netherlands, and the United States.
Antonio Faccilongo / Photo Story of the Year
Carlton Ward Jr.
Evelyn Hockstein
Henrik Hansson
The jury of the 2021 Photo Contest selected Mads Nissen’s photograph The First Embrace as the World Press Photo of the Year, and Habibi by Antonio Faccilongo as the World Press Photo Story of the Year.
Online World Press Photo Festival
Some 2021 Contests winners presented their work during the online World Press Photo Festival 2021. The three day program included presentations by contest winners sharing the background to their award-winning stories, talks with jury members taking you through the judging process, discussions around the theme of press freedom, and digital spaces for visual storytelling professionals to discuss pressing questions and topics.
Jasper Doest
Lorenzo Tugnoli
Ernesto Benavides
Natalia Kepesz
Lorenzo Tugnoli
2021 Photo Contest
The World Press Photo Contest recognizes the best visual journalism of the last year, rewarding images and stories in eight categories. This year, 4,315 photographers from 130 countries have entered 74,470 images. This is an increase from 2020, when 4,282 photographers from 125 countries entered 73,996 images.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the judging of the 2021 Photo Contest took place entirely online. The judging process for the 2021 Photo Contest involved seven specialized juries and a general jury, the judging process involving several rounds over a six-week period. Seven independent specialist juries first shortlisted entries in eight categories. An independent General Jury, a different set of jurors consisting of the 2021 Photo Contest jury chair and six other members, then selected the winners.
Maya Alleruzzo
Pablo Tosco
Adam Pretty
Joshua Irwandi
The 2021 Photo Contest winners are included in the annual World Press Photo Exhibition tour and featured in the World Press Photo Yearbook 2021.
Exhibition Schedule:
World Press Photo Exhibition 2021
Metrography Gallery, Sulaimaniyah, Iraq
May 3 – June 3, 2021
People, Power: Documenting Protest Since 1957
Cité Internationale Universitaire, Paris, France
May 3–30, 2021
World Press Photo Exhibition 2021
Palazzo Madama, Turin, Italy
May 7 – August 22, 2021
World Press Photo Exhibition 2021
The Michael Crouch Family Galleries, Sydney Australia
May 15 – June 13, 2021
World Press Photo Exhibition 2021
Mattatoio, Rome, Italy
May 28 – August 22, 2021
World Press Photo Exhibition 2021
Spazio Reale, Monte Carasso, Bellinzona, Switzerland
May 29 – June 20, 2021
World Press Photo Exhibition 2021
De Nieuwe Kerk, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
June 5 – August 29, 2021
65 Years of World Press Photo: Looking Back and Looking Forward
Panel talk / Online
June 10, 2021
Through the Lens of
Photographers from the African Photojournalism Database
Tropenmuseum, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
June 24, 2021 – January 8, 2023
World Press Photo Exhibition 2021
Brisbane Powerhouse, Brisbane, Australia
June 26 – July 18, 2021
World Press Photo Exhibition 2021
Museo Franz Mayer, Mexico City, Mexico
July 16 – September 26, 2021
World Press Photo Exhibition 2021
Canadian War Museum Ottawa, Ottawa, Canada
July 23 – August 15, 2021
World Press Photo Exhibition 2021
State Library of Western Australia, Perth, Australia
July 30 – August 20, 2021
World Press Photo Exhibition 2021
Gruner + Jahr, Hamburg, Germany
August 6–29, 2021
World Press Photo Exhibition 2021
Stadthalle Balingen, Balingen, Germany
August 7–29, 2021
World Press Photo Exhibition 2021
Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center, Athens Greece
August 23 – September 14, 2021
World Press Photo Exhibition 2021
IPFO Haus der Fotografie, Olten, Switzerland
August 26 – October 3, 2021
World Press Photo Exhibition 2021
Hungarian National Museum, Budapest, Hungary
September 24 – October 31, 2021
World Press Photo Exhibition 2021
Kulturort Depot, Dortmund Germany
September 25 – October 17, 2021
World Press Photo Exhibition 2021
Willy-Brandt-Haus, Berlin, Germany
September 30 – October 24, 2021
World Press Photo Exhibition 2021
La Pulperie de Chicoutimi / Musée régional, Chicoutimi, Canada
October 8–31, 2021
Nuno Andre Ferreira
Valery Melnikov
Roland Schmid
Ezra Acayan
The World Press Photo Foundation believes in the power of showing and the importance of seeing high-quality visual stories.
It all began in 1955 when a group of Dutch photographers organized an international contest “World Press Photo” to expose their work to a global audience.
For six decades, the World Press Photo Foundation has been working from its home in Amsterdam as an independent, nonprofit organization. In that time, the world has changed continuously, and new developments in the media and technology have transformed journalism and storytelling. Our mission has expanded, and we draw on our experience to guide visual journalists, storytellers, and audiences around the world through this challenging and exciting landscape.
Our purpose is to connect the world to the stories that matter.
World Press Photo 2021
Winners & Exhibitions Announced
World Press Photo
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