Our annual contests recognize and celebrate the best visual journalism produced over the last year. We’re proud to present the winners of our 64th annual Photo Contest and 11th annual Digital Storytelling Contest!
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. Reconstructing Seven Days of Protests in Minneapolis After George Floyd’s Death by Holly Bailey/The Washington Post and Matt Daniels, Amelia Wattenberger/The Pudding, was awarded Interactive of the Year and Calling Back From Wuhan by Yang Shenlai/Tang Xiaolan awarded Online Video of the Year. Meet the 2021 Photo Contest and Digital Storytelling Contest winners
Some 2021 Contests winners presented their work during the online World Press Photo Festival 2021, taking place from 15-17 April. 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. Watch online sessions
2021 Contests timeline
Entries open: 1 December 2020, 12.00 noon CET
Entries close: 13 January 2021, 12.00 noon CET (deadline extended)
Nominees announced: 10 March 2021, 12.00 noon CET
Categories winners announced on World Press Photo’s online channels: 15 April 2021, 15.00 CEST
Headline awards winners announced at the Awards Show (online): 15 April 2021, 16.00-17.00 CEST
Since 1955, the World Press Photo Contest rewards photographers for the best single exposure pictures contributing to the past year of visual journalism. Whether entered as singles or stories, these pictures are judged in terms of their accurate, fair, and visually compelling insights about our world.
The Digital Storytelling Contest, open to short documentary film and interactive productions, recognizes and rewards forms of visual storytelling enabled by digital technologies.
