The winners of the World Press Photo Contest 2025 have been announced, whose work will be exhibited in over 60 locations worldwide, as well as being available to millions online.
This year there are 42 winning photographers from 30 countries, with their work spanning Africa; Europe; North and Central America; South America; Asia-Pacific and Oceania; and West, Central, and South Asia.
Key themes for this year’s winning photos have documented uprisings, politics, migration, the climate crisis and gender. Spotlights on Iran, Sudan and Palestine are also included in the winners.
Joumana El Zein Khoury, Executive Director of World Press Photo, said: “The world is not the same as it was in 1955 when World Press Photo was founded. We live in a time when it is easier than ever to look away, to scroll past, to disengage. But these images do not let us do that. They cut through the noise, forcing us to acknowledge what is unfolding, even when it is uncomfortable, even when it makes us question the world we live in – and our own role within it.”
This year, there has been an increasing drive for locals to tell their own stories through their lenses, and of the winners, 30 are native to the land they photographed.
Lucy Conticello, Global jury chair and Director of Photography for M, Le Monde’s weekend magazine, said: “As much as the World Press Photo Contest award is an immense recognition for photographers, often working under difficult circumstances, it is also a recap of the world’s major events, however incomplete. As a jury, we were looking for pictures that people can start conversations around.”
Originally founded by Dutch photojournalists in the Netherlands, this year marks the 70th anniversary of the competition. This year’s Photo Contest saw 59,320 entries from 3,778 photographers in 141 countries.
The 42 winners will receive €1,000 and a physical award, as well as being included in the annual travelling exhibition and yearbook.
The World Press Photo of the Year winner will be selected from the 42 winners on April 17, and will win an additional €10,000 cash prize as well as a FUJIFILM GFX camera.
See some of the winning entries below, and visit World Press Photo’s official website to see the full list of winners.
