World Press Photo Contest announces breathtaking 2021 nominees

The World Press Photo Contest won’t be announced till next month. Still, The World Press Photo Foundation has something for us. They have announced this year’s nominees of the World Press Photo contest, as well as the Digital Storytelling Contest. And just like always, the photos are breathtaking, moving, and thought-provoking.

This year marks the 64th World Press Photo Contest and 11th Digital Storytelling Contest. The Foundation has shared the nominees for 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. But in this article, we’ll share some of the nominated photos.

Photographers and videographers have submitted their work in eight categories:

Contemporary Issues
Environment
General News
Long-Term Projects
Nature
Portraits
Sports
Spot News

As I mentioned, the winners will be publicly announced at the World Press Photo Festival 2021 on 15 April 2021. Sadly, this year’s awards ceremony will only be held online due to this never-ending pandemic. In the meantime, enjoy the nominated images below and visit the World Press Photo website for more details.

Editor’s note: some viewers may find some of the images disturbing, so viewer discretion is advised.

The six nominees for the World Press Photo of the Year

© Evelyn Hockstein, United States
Anais, 26, who wants to remove the Emancipation statue in Lincoln Park in Washington, DC, argues with a man who argues to keep it, June 25th, 2020.

© Valery Melnikov, Russia, for Sputnik
Azat Gevorkyan and his wife Anaik before leaving their home in Lachin, Nagorno-Karabakh

© Mads Nissen, Denmark for Politiken/Panos Pictures
85-year-old Rosa Luzia Lunardi is embraced by nurse Adriana Silva da Costa Souza. The first hug she receives in five months.

© Oleg Ponomarev, Russia
Ignat, a transgender man, sits with his girlfriend Maria in Saint Petersburg, Russia, on 23 April 2020.

© Luis Tato, Spain
Herny Lenayasa, a Samburu man and chief of the settlement of Archers Post tries to scare away a massive swarm of locust ravaging an area next to Archers Post, Samburu County, Kenya on April 24, 2020.

© Lorenzo Tugnoli, Italy, Contrasto for The Washington Post
An injured man stands near the site of a massive explosion in the port of Beirut, Lebanon, while firefighters work to put out the fires that engulfed the warehouses after the explosion, on 4 August.