2021 Photo Contest and 2021 Digital Storytelling Contest headline winners announced

The World Press Photo Foundation is proud to present the winners of the World Press Photo of the Year, World Press Photo Story of the Year, World Press Photo Interactive of the Year, and World Press Photo Online Video of the Year.

The winners were announced at an online Awards Show on 15 April 2021 at 17:00 CEST. The category winners were announced on World Press Photo’s online channels on 15 April at 15:00 CEST.

“2020 was a difficult year, and today we recognize the visual storytellers that put their lives at risk to present us with important stories about our world. The stories and productions awarded today touched the jury because of the personal, human and hopeful angles that the visual storytellers gave to very difficult issues such as the COVID-19 pandemic, the Israel-Palestine conflict, and the Black Lives Matter protests following the murder of George Floyd,” said Joumana El Zein Khoury, executive director of the World Press Photo Foundation.

Register to access the 2021 Contests winners media kit here to learn more about the winning photos and stories and download high-resolution images. 

The independent jury of the 2021 Photo Contest selected Mads Nissen’s photograph The First Embrace as the World Press Photo of the Year. In the winning image, Rosa Luzia Lunardi (85) is embraced by nurse Adriana Silva da Costa Souza, at Viva Bem care home, São Paulo, Brazil, on 5 August 2020.

Kevin WY Lee, photographer, creative director and 2021 Photo Contest jury member describes the winning photograph: “This iconic image of COVID-19 memorializes the most extraordinary moment of our lives, everywhere. I read vulnerability, loved ones, loss and separation, demise, but, importantly, also survival—all rolled into one graphic image. If you look at the image long enough, you’ll see wings: a symbol of flight and hope.”

Learn more about the awarded image.

The jury chose Habibi by Antonio Faccilongo as the World Press Photo Story of the Year. The winning series chronicles love stories set against the backdrop of one of the longest and most complicated contemporary conflicts, the Israeli-Palestinian war. The story shows the impact of the conflict on Palestinian families, and the difficulties they face in preserving their reproductive rights and human dignity.

Ahmed Najm, Managing Director of Metrography Agency and 2021 Photo Contest jury member, says about the story: “The photojournalistic perspective of the photographer, along with the uniqueness of the story, have created a masterpiece. This is a story of human struggle in the 21st century: a story about those unheard voices that can reach the world if we, the jury, act as a medium. It shows another side of the long contemporary conflict between Israel and Palestine.”

Learn more about the awarded story.

The independent jury of the 2021 Digital Storytelling Contest selected 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, as the World Press Photo Interactive of the Year.

Reconstructing Seven Days of Protests in Minneapolis After George Floyd’s Death provides a full picture of the first week of protests in Minneapolis after the killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer. The piece makes unprecedented use of user-generated content and combines and maps out 147 live stream videos.

Muyi Xiao, reporter and video producer in The New York Times Visual Investigations team and 2021 Digital Storytelling Contest jury chair, says about the production: “It shows that the situation was more complicated and nuanced than people initially understood. What stands out the most is how they utilize user-generated content to provide accountability. The approach is innovative.”

Learn more about the awarded interactive production.

The jury chose Calling Back From Wuhan by Yang Shenlai/ Tang Xiaolan as the World Press Photo Online Video of the Year. Told through a series of recorded phone conversations, Calling Back From Wuhan gives an account of one family at the first epicenter of COVID-19. In February 2020, just days after losing both of his parents to the virus, Weng Jiang and his wife also became infected.

The World Press Photo Online Video of the Year award celebrates a video produced for the web, which through skillful editing and audio-visual design tells a compelling story with an impact.

About the winning production, Sanchai Chotirosseranee, deputy director, Film Archive and 2021 Digital Storytelling jury member remarks: “The story is quite complete in itself, it feels that they told not only trauma but the story around it, connecting with others and from that, you can see the big picture as well.”

Learn more about the awarded film.

The World Press Photo of the Year, the World Press Photo Story of the Year, the World Press Photo Interactive of the Year and the World Press Photo Online Video of the Year awards carry a cash prize of 5,000 euros.

All winners are published in World Press Photo’s online collection and promoted on World Press Photo's platforms. They are also included in the annual World Press Photo Exhibition tour and featured in the World Press Photo Yearbook. In addition, winners are invited to the World Press Photo Festival 2021, are often featured in major publications and invited to speak at public events throughout the year.

This year for the first time, the annual World Press Photo Festival will be held online, taking place from 15-17 April 2021. View the full program: worldpressphoto.org/festival/2021

The prize-winning photographs are assembled into a year-long worldwide exhibition that usually visits over 120 cities and 50 countries and is seen by more than four million people. Every year it premieres at De Nieuwe Kerk, in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. We’re working closely with our worldwide partners to monitor COVID-19 restrictions to ensure a safe visit to the World Press Photo Exhibition in 2021. Check the calendar for updates: worldpressphoto.org/calendar

The winning stories of the Photo Contest are showcased in an annual yearbook, available in six languages: English, Dutch, French, German, Italian, and Spanish. The World Press Photo Yearbook 2021 will be published and distributed by Lannoo Publishers, and can be ordered from the end of April, internationally through Lannoo or via the PhotoQ Bookshop: worldpressphoto.org/yearbook