Mads Nissen’s photograph “The First Embrace” has been chosen as the World Press Photo of the Year.
It features an emotional reunion between a resident of a Brazil nursing home and their loved one after six months apart because of the pandemic.
The World Press Photo Foundation, an independent organisation that has recognised the strongest press photographs of the year since 1955, on Thursday announced the winners of this year’s edition.
Survival during the pandemic, the climate emergency, social protests and territorial conflicts were among the events and issues brought to life for millions by the winners of the contest.
As many as 45 photographers from 28 countries were singled out for excellence in their work and the impact of their photographs.
The First Embrace by Mads Nissen, Denmark
World Press Photo of the Year – Winner
General News category, singles – 1st Prize
This was the first hug Rosa had received in five months. In March, care homes across the country had closed their doors to all visitors as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, preventing millions of Brazilians from visiting their elderly relatives.
Habibi by Antonio Faccilongo, Italy
World Press Photo Story of the Year – Winner
Long-term projects – 1st Prize
Nearly 4,200 Palestinian security detainees are being held in Israeli prisons, according to a February 2021 report by human rights organization B’Tselem. Some face sentences of 20 years or more.
Habibi, which means ‘my love’ in Arabic, chronicles love stories set against the backdrop of one of the longest and most complicated conflicts in modern history.
Nael al-Barghouthi’s suit remains hanging in his bedroom in Kobar, near Ramallah. He has spent more than 40 years in prison, the longest-serving Palestinian inmate in Israel
Antonio Faccilongo/Getty
Lydia Rimawi lies on her sofa in Beit Rima, her husband Abdul Karim Rimawi was sentenced to 25 years in prison for involvement in the assassination of Israeli tourism minister
Antonio Faccilongo/ Getty
Wives, mothers, and children of Palestinian prisoners reach a checkpoint in Beit Seira, Palestine, on 26 November 2017
Antonio Faccilongo for Getty
A baby born a few hours earlier lies inside an incubator at Al-Shifa Hospital, Gaza
Antonio Faccilongo for Getty
Amma Elian, whose husband has been serving a life-sentence since 2003, sits with twins born following IVF, in Tulkarm, Palestine
Antonio Faccilongo for Getty
A portrait of Mazen Rimawi, a former Palestinian political prisoner and uncle to Majd Rimawi, whose father is serving a 25-year sentence
Antonio Faccilongo for Getty
Lydia Rimawi travels with her son Majd to visit her husband in prison. She leaves home at 5am and has to take three different buses and pass through a checkpoint to reach it.
Antonio Faccilongo for Getty
Winners in other catagories
Yemen: Hunger, Another War Wound by Pablo Tosco, Argentina
Contemporary issues category – singles
Fatima has nine children. In order to provide for them, she makes a living off fishing. Although her village was devastated by armed conflict in Yemen, Fatima returned to resume her livelihood, buying a boat with money she earned from selling fish.
Sakhawood by Alexey Vasilyev, Russia
Contemporary Issues category, stories – 1st Prize
The people of Sakha, a republic in the far northeast of the Russian Federation, live in a remote area with extreme weather conditions: temperatures can drop as low as -50°C in winter. Art has become a way of showcasing and preserving Sakha culture, traditions, and stories. Cinema has flourished there since the 1990s. Around seven to ten feature films are shot a year, by a local movie industry lightheartedly dubbed ‘Sakhawood’.
A film crew shoots the second part of The Old Beyberikeen With Five Cows, which is based on an old folktale, in Sakha, Russian Federation. August 6, 2019
Alexey Vasilyev
Twins Semyon and Stepan perform in the roles of dulgancha, mythical swamp creatures, in The Old Beyberikeen With Five Cows, in Sakha, Russia. August 9, 2019
Alexey Vasilyev
Isabella Nikolaeva, renowned in Sakha for her theater roles, prepares to appear in the historical comedy Hurried, based on the classic drama by Yakut writer Nikolai Neustroev
September 3, 2019. Alexey Vasilyev
Director Stepan Burnashev rehearses lead actor Fedot Lvov in Khara Khaar (Black Snow), a drama about life in the North, in Sakha, Russian Federation. March 12, 2019.
Alexey Vasilyev
California Sea Lion Plays with Mask by Ralph Pace, United States
Environment, singles category – 1st Prize
California sea lions are playful animals, native to western North America. With COVID-19 lockdowns in place across California, outdoor and natural beauty spots with plenty of wildlife became a popular focus for local travel.
Pantanal Ablaze by Lalo de Almeida, Brazil, Panos Pictures
Environment category, stories – 1st Prize
Nearly a third of Brazil’s Pantanal region—the world’s largest tropical wetland and flooded grasslands, sprawling across some 140,000 to 160,000 square kilometres—was consumed by fires over the course of 2020.
Firefighters combat a fire outbreak at the São Francisco de Perigara farm, which is home to one of the largest populations of Hyacinth macaws in Brazil, August 14, 2020
Lalo de Almeida/Panos Pictures
Burnt landscape lines the Transpantaneira, a road crossing the Pantanal, near Porto Jofre. September 5, 2020. The road is known for its wildlife-watching opportunities
Lalo de Almeida/Panos Pictures
A volunteer looks for fire spots under a wooden bridge on the Transpantaneira. September 13, 2020
Lalo de Almeida/ Panos Pictures
Paradise Lost by Valery Melnikov, Russia
General news category, stories – 1st Prize
Violence flared up in September between Azerbaijan and Armenia over the mountainous region of Nagorno-Karabakh.
Areg sits outside a burning house in the village of Karegakh, Nagorno-Karabakh. November 25, 2020
Valeriy Melnikov for Sputnik
A rocket remaining after the shelling of the city of Martuni (Khojavend), Nagorno-Karabakh, lies in a field. November 10, 2020
Valery Melnikov, Russia, Sputnik
Azat Gevorkyan and his wife Anaik are ready to leave their home in Lachin, before Armenia returned it to Azerbaijani amid the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh
Valery Melnikov for Sputnik
Abovyan Hasmik (69) cries at the door of her home in the village of Nerkin Sus, Nagorno-Karabakh. November 30, 2021
Valeriy Melnikov for Sputnik
Rescue of Giraffes from Flooding Island by Ami Vitale, United States
Nature category, singles – 1st Prize
Rothschild’s giraffes are a subspecies of the northern giraffe and are classified as endangered. Longicharo Island was once a peninsula. Rising water levels in Lake Baringo over the past ten years have cut the peninsula off to form an island. Particularly heavy rainfall in 2019 caused further floods, stranding nine giraffes. The local community worked with conservationists to build the barge and transport the marooned animals to a sanctuary in the Ruko conservancy on the shores of the lake.
Pandemic Pigeons — A Love Story by Jasper Doest, The Netherlands
Nature category, stories, 1st Prize
A pair of feral pigeons befriended the photographer’s family, who were isolated in their apartment in Vlaardingen, the Netherlands, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Ollie and Dollie, as the family named them, were regulars in the house, their daily visits a reminder that humans are not alone on this planet, even while living isolated in urban areas.
The photographer’s daughter Merel cowers after Dollie flies past and perches on the balcony, before entering the house, in Vlaardingen, the Netherlands. April 6, 2020.
Jasper Doest
Ollie perches on a dirty plate as the photographer fills the dishwasher, while Dollie looks on from outside, in Vlaardingen, the Netherlands. April 17, 2020
Jasper Doest
Ollie, standing behind six-year-old Fleur, joins the family for sushi takeout—an at-home wedding anniversary celebration because restaurants are still closed. April 26, 2020.
Vlaardingen, the Netherlands. Jasper Doest
Ollie flies through the living room, after knocking over toys, in Vlaardingen, the Netherlands. April 30, 2020.
Jasper Doest
The World Press Photo of the Year and the World Press Photo Story of the Year awards carry a cash prize of €5,000. The winning pictures are published in an annual yearbook and are assembled into a year-long exhibition that usually visits over 120 cities and 50 countries worldwide and is seen by more than four million people.