World Press Photo Exhibition 2020 in Macao

Statement on the premature closing of the World Press Photo Exhibition 2020 in Macao

The World Press Photo Foundation is a global organization and we want to encourage a diverse range of professionals from around the world to produce a comprehensive view of the world that we can connect to an international audience. Our purpose is to connect the world to the stories that matter.

Our annual Exhibition showcases the best visual journalism of the past year, with winning photography of the annual World Press Photo Contest, chosen by an independent jury. Images and stories are awarded across eight categories. All the prize-winning photographs in the single categories are displayed, and a selection of images is made for all awarded stories. The content of the annual World Press Photo Exhibition is the same for all exhibition locations and partners cannot choose which images are included in the exhibition.

The annual World Press Photo Exhibition has been held in Macao every year since 2008, and is organized by the Association Casa de Portugal Macao. This year, the exhibition opened in Macao on 25 September 2020, and was going to be held until 18 October 2020. Unfortunately we haven’t been able to confirm the reasons why the exhibition was closed prematurely.

“We believe in the power of showing and the importance of seeing high-quality visual stories. Our annual exhibition connects the global audience to the stories that matter. While the reasons for the closing remain unclear, we are following local media reports suggesting that it might be the result of external pressure on the content of the exhibition.

Supporting the conditions for freedom of expression, freedom of inquiry, freedom of the press is a fundamental part of our work. We regret the premature closing of our annual exhibition in Macao. Our collaboration with the Association Casa de Portugal Macao has always been a positive one and we hope to be able to come back to Macao,” says Laurens Korteweg, director of Exhibitions at the World Press Photo Foundation.