From conflict and climate to culture and resilience, the winners of the 2026 World Press Photo Contest reflect powerful photojournalism and documentary photography that spotlight the most pressing issues of our time. The 42 winners of the 2026 World Press Photo Contest were selected by an independent jury out of 57,376 photographs submitted by 3,747 photographers in 141 countries.
The judging involved six regional juries and a global jury composed of the six regional jury chairs and one additional member, the global jury chair. The regional juries first made a selection of entries per category in their regions, after which the global jury decided on the winners.
For more information about why each 2026 World Press Contest awarded work was selected by the independent jury, read the jury report.
