The Globe and Mail Published April 15, 2021 Updated April 15, 2021
World Press Photo’s annual contest recognizes and celebrates the best visual journalism produced over the past year. The winners consist of 45 photographers from 28 countries, documenting unprecedented world events, from the COVID-19 pandemic to social justice protests. Canadian photojournalist Chris Donovan wins in the category Sports story of the year for his photo essay on the Flint Jaguars basketball team in Michigan. The Photo Story of the Year was awarded to Italian documentary photographer Antonio Faccilongo, working for Getty Reportage, for a series titled “Habibi” about Palestinian detainees in Israeli prisons who smuggle their semen out of detention facilities in the hopes of raising a family. World Press Photo of the Year was awarded to Danish photographer Mads Nissenan for his image symbolizing “love and compassion” of an 85-year-old Brazilian woman getting her first embrace in five months
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.
Image of a pandemic-era hug named World Press Photo of the Year Mike Corder Bookmark Please log in to listen to this story. Also available in French and Mandarin. Log In Create Free Account
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Mads Nissen/ Politiken/ Panos Pictures/World Press
A photo symbolizing “love and compassion” of an 85-year-old Brazilian woman getting her first embrace in five months from a nurse through a transparent “hug curtain” was named the World Press Photo of the Year on Thursday.
The choice of a winning photo portraying the global pandemic was almost inevitable for the contest covering a year in which news around the globe was dominated by the virus that has killed nearly 3 million people, including more than 360,000 in hard-hit Brazil.
COVID hug wins World Press Photo of the Year
The World Press Photo Awards honor the best visual journalism worldwide. The past year was not only marked by the pandemic, but also the climate crisis and forgotten conflicts.
World Press Photo of the Year
Danish photographer Mads Nissen won in the category General News, singles, with his photo of an 85-year-old woman being embraced for the first time in months through a hug curtain by a nurse at the Viva Bem care home in Sao Paulo. It is a rare positive photo about the COVID-19 era, said the jury. Under President Jair Bolsonaro, Brazil is one of the countries most affected by the virus.
Coronavirus hug image named World Press Photo of the Year
By MIKE CORDERApril 15, 2021 GMT
THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) A photo symbolizing “love and compassion” of an 85-year-old Brazilian woman getting her first embrace in five months from a nurse through a transparent “hug curtain” was named the World Press Photo of the Year on Thursday.
It was the second time the Danish photographer who shot the image has won the prestigious award.
The choice of a winning photo portraying the global pandemic was almost inevitable for the contest covering a year in which news around the globe was dominated by the virus that has killed nearly 3 million people, including more than 360,000 in hard-hit Brazil.