World Press Photo winners

The 2026 World Press Photo winners are out, but the biggest prize is still unresolved: the organization named 42 regional winners on April 9 and will not reveal the single Photo of the Year until April 23 in Amsterdam. The gap matters because every one of those 42 entries is still in contention for the top award. (worldpressphoto.org) This contest is no longer one giant pile of pictures judged all at once. World Press Photo now splits the world into six regions and gives each region three Singles winners, three Stories winners, and one Long-Term Project winner, which is how it arrives at 42 total winners. (worldpressphoto.org 1) (worldpressphoto.org 2) That structure changes what gets seen. A photograph is judged by where it was taken, not by the photographer’s passport, so a story shot in Canada goes into North and Central America even if the photographer lives somewhere else. (worldpressphoto.org) The result this year is less like a single “best photo” list and more like a map of what the world looked like in 2025. The official winners span Sudan, Madagascar, Gaza, Kashmir, Nepal, Hong Kong, Los Angeles, Zimbabwe, Mexico, and rural China, alongside quieter stories like ballet students in Johannesburg and women becoming mothers at age 60 in China. (worldpressphoto.org 1) (worldpressphoto.org 2) (worldpressphoto.org 3) (worldpressphoto.org 4) Some of the most visible winners came from conflict zones. In West, Central, and South Asia, the winning entries include “Aid Emergency in Gaza,” “Witnessing Gaza,” “A Daughter’s Grief in Kashmir,” and a story on Afghan women facing cuts to United States aid. (worldpressphoto.org) Africa’s winners show the same pattern, but with a wider spread of subjects. The region’s selected work includes elephant culling in Zimbabwe, the war in Sudan, protests in Madagascar, abuse survivors in Kenya, and everyday life in South Africa, which the regional jury described as an “honest portrait of the continent.” (worldpressphoto.org) North and Central America’s list pulls the contest closer to domestic political news for United States readers. The region’s winners include Columbia University pro-Palestine protests, Immigration and Customs Enforcement protests in Portland, Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrests at a New York court, the Los Angeles fires, and a long-term project called “Mexico, A Changing Climate.” (worldpressphoto.org) Asia-Pacific and Oceania mixes breaking news with slower, stranger stories. Its winners include the Bondi Beach terror attack, a desperate plea in Hong Kong, flood-season wedding coverage in the Philippines, scam compounds under siege, dolphin hunters, and a long-term project on motherhood at 60. (worldpressphoto.org) World Press Photo is also quietly defining what counts as documentary truth. The contest now runs only three format-based categories — Singles, Stories, and Long-Term Projects — and says the old Open Format category was discontinued with the 2025 contest, while fully generated images and generative fill are prohibited. (worldpressphoto.org 1) (worldpressphoto.org 2) The judges are not picking one aesthetic either. The official criteria say winners were chosen for visual quality, storytelling, and diversity, and the jury chair, Kira Pollack, framed the 2026 selection as a set of images about fracture, urgency, and resilience rather than a single global mood. (worldpressphoto.org) (worldpressphoto.org) What happens next is very concrete. On April 23, 2026, World Press Photo will name the Photo of the Year and two finalists, and on April 24 its flagship exhibition opens at De Nieuwe Kerk in Amsterdam before the traveling show moves through more than 80 cities worldwide. (worldpressphoto.org) (worldpressphoto.org)