Death, illness and catastrophe - images of a world increasingly marked by conflict and crisis. But also stories of female empowerment, resistance, resilience and hidden traditions.
These are the powerful and diverse visual narratives captured by photojournalists and documentary photographers from across the globe, recognised among the regional winners of the World Press Photo Contest 2026, which aims at “connecting the world to the stories that matter.”
Among the awardees is Italian photographer Chantal Pinzi, whose project Farīsāt: Gunpowder’s Daughters sheds light on women challenging a traditionally male-dominated Moroccan equestrian practice, reclaiming their place within the country’s cultural landscape.
The World Press Photo of the Year and the two finalists will be announced on Thursday, April 23, both online and during a live press conference, marking the opening of the main World Press Photo Exhibition 2026 at De Nieuwe Kerk in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. The exhibition will then travel to Rome, where it will be on display at the Palazzo delle Esposizioni from May 7 to June 29.
This year’s winners were selected from 57,376 photographs submitted by 3,747 photographers from 141 countries, representing the very best of global visual storytelling.
