World Press Photo 2024 regional winners announced

The World Press Photo 2024 regional winners have been announced! The photojournalism and documentary photography competition‘s winning projects, which cover topics such as the Israel-Hamas war, will be shown as part of World Press Photo’s annual exhibition in over 60 locations around the world. The four global winners will be selected from the regional winners on 18 April.

The exhibition will be starting its worldwide tour in Amsterdam on 19 April. It will then be coming to London for the first time in seven years. It will run from Friday 3 May to Monday 27 May 2024 at Borough Yards, Dirty Lane, London SE1 9AD. Tickets are available with prices starting from £5.

A woman cradles the body of her niece who was killed, along with four other family members, when an Israeli missile struck their home. World Press Photo 2024 regional winner — Inas Abu Maamar (36) cradles the body of her niece Saly (5) who was killed, along with four other family members, when an Israeli missile struck their home. Khan Younis, Gaza, 17 October 2023. Title: A Palestinian Woman Embraces the Body of Her Niece © Mohammed Salem, Reuters

Other locations the exhibition will visit include Sydney, Mexico City, Toronto, Hong Kong and Berlin. You can check out more on the World Press Photo website.

From World Press Photo:

Wednesday 3 April 2024 – World Press Photo today announces the regional winners of the 2024 Contest, showcasing a selection of the world’s best photojournalism and documentary photography. The works invite viewers to step outside the news cycle, and look more deeply at both prominent and overlooked stories from across the world.

On 18 April 2024 at 11:00 am CEST (Amsterdam time), the four global winners, selected from the regional winners, will be announced at the press opening of the Flagship World Press Photo Exhibition 2024 at De Nieuwe Kerk in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, and online simultaneously.

A man decorates the graves of relatives to celebrate the Day of the Dead. World Press Photo 2024 regional winners — Sabino Marín Reyes decorates the graves of relatives to celebrate the Day of the Dead. Members of the Mazahua community believe monarchs to be souls of the departed. Comunidad Indígena Francisco Serrato, Michoacán, Mexico, 2 November 2023. Title: Saving the Monarchs © Jaime Rojo, for National Geographic

Executive Director World Press Photo, Joumana El Zein Khoury said:

Each year, jurors from all over the globe review tens of thousands of photos to find a selection that is visually stunning, tells stories that matter, and represents our shared world. This year’s selection includes stories of desperation, hunger, war, and loss – but also of perseverance, courage, love, family, dreams, and more butterflies than anyone has a right to expect.

There are 24 winning projects and six honorable mentions in total. Additionally, this year, the jury made the exceptional decision to include two special mentions in the selection. The awarded stories will be shown to millions as part of our annual exhibition in over 60 locations around the world. Millions more will see the winning stories online.

World Press Photo regional winners 2024 — Tunisia’s 2011 revolution, which catalyzed the “Arab Spring”, instilled hope in Tunisians aspiring to democracy, social justice, and freedom of expression. However, the subsequent decade witnessed political instability, persistent economic crises, and social inequality, impacting young people especially. More than 40% of Tunisia’s population is aged 15–34, with unemployment of youth under 24 at around 40%. This project explores the lives of young Tunisians and aims to contribute to discussion on including them in a better future. Title: The Escape © Zied Ben Romdhane, Magnum Photos, Arab Fund for Arts and Culture, AIM LAB

The awarded photographs were selected from 61,062 entries by 3,851 photographers from 130 countries. They were judged first by six regional juries, and the winners were then chosen by a global jury consisting of the regional jury chairs plus the global jury chair – Fiona Shields, Head of Photography at The Guardian.

Global jury chair, Fiona Shields, Head of Photography at The Guardian, said:

These final selected works are a tapestry of our world today, centered on images we believe were made with respect and integrity, that can speak universally and resonate far beyond their origins.

This is an opportunity to applaud the work of press and documentary photographers everywhere – made with courage, intelligence, and ingenuity – and to amplify the importance of the stories they are telling, often in unimaginable circumstances.

World Press Photo 2024 regional winners — This project is a private visual record that aims to explore the concept of family photos. In close collaboration with the family, the photographer tells the story of Jiuer, a young mother of three in northern China who gains more understanding and appreciation for life in her final years after being diagnosed with cancer. Before her surgery, Jiuer invited the photographer to take some family photos, and later, when her condition deteriorated, asked her to record the time she spent with her children. Title: I Am Still With You © Wang Naigong

Some topics included this year

The Israel-Hamas war: The Asia winner in the Singles category shows a Palestinian woman embracing the body of her niece who was killed when an Israeli missile struck their home. It was seen by the jury as an important reminder of the finality of personal loss amidst the statistics of war.

This year, the jury also made the exceptional decision to include two special mentions in the 2024 World Press Photo Contest selection – each showing a single individual (an Israeli and a Palestinian) in the aftermath of a horrific attack.

The climate crisis: The selection shows how photographers are working urgently not only to show the effects of the climate crisis and activism against its causes, but also to document what is being lost. A connection can be made, for example, between young German activists fighting to stop a coal mine from destroying local communities, and a grandfather in Fiji resolutely holding his grandson while chest deep in a rising ocean.

Family: The jury noted in retrospect that many of the stories in their selection revolve around the theme of family. Included are stories of families coping with conditions such as cancer or dementia, the challenges of migration, and trauma due to war, disaster and loss. In each case, the strength of these relationships and the photographers’ care for their subjects are visible in the images.