The moment an old woman hugged by a medical staff in Brazil during the Covid-19 pandemic has just won the prestigious World Press Photo of the Year award.
The judges described Mads Nissen’s photo as “the iconic image of Covid-19”, reminiscent of “the most extraordinary moments in our lives, everywhere”.
“I read the hurt, the loved ones, the loss and the separation, the destruction, but more importantly life, all wrapped up in one photo,” said photographer Kevin Wy Lee, creative director and a member of the jury of the 2021 Photo Contest, describing the winning photo titled “The First Hug”. “If you look at the picture long enough, you’ll see wings: a symbol of soaring and hope,” he said. The World Press Photo Foundation awards recognize the photographers with the best photographs that have contributed to the media over the past year on the Covid-19 pandemic, the Israel-Palestine conflict and BLM (Important Black Lives) protests after the death of George Floyd in the US. Joumana El Zein Khoury, the Association’s Executive Director, describes 2020 as a difficult year for the press, and the awards honor “visual storytellers who risk their lives to present us stories. important to the world “. Below is a set of photos that won the 2021 World Press Photo Award: 
Photo of World Press of the Year: Rosa Luzia Lunardi, 85, is embraced by nurse Adriana Silva da Costa Souza at Viva Bem nursing home, Sao Paulo, Brazil, on August 5. [Mads Nissen, Đan Mạch, Politiken / Panos Pictures] 
Contemporary Issues – First Prize, Singles: Fatima and her son prepare a fishing net on a boat in Khor Omeira Bay, Yemen, February 12, 2020. [Pablo Tosco, Argentina] 
Long-Term Projects – First Prize: Amma Elian, whose husband has been serving a life sentence since 2003, holds twins born after in vitro fertilization, in Tulkarm, Palestine, Jan. 25 2015. [Antonio Faccilongo, Italia, Phóng sự Getty] 
Contemporary Matters – First Prize, Story: A crew filmed the second installment of The Old Beyberikeen With Five Cows, a film based on a folk tale, in Sakha, Russia, on August 6, 2019. The first part of the film, directed by Konstantin Timofeev, reached the top 10 box office sales in early 2019. [Alexey Vasilyev, Nga] 
Environment – First prize, Singles: A curious sea lion swims towards a mask at Breakwater, Monterey, California, USA, on November 19, 2020. [Ralph Pace, Mỹ] 
Environment – First prize, Story: Firefighter put out a fire at Sao Francisco de Perigara farm, home to one of the largest populations of Hyacinth macaws (Anodorhynchus hyacinthinus) in Brazil August 14, 2020. About 92% of the farm, largely preserved, was burned down by the flames. [Lalo de Almeida, Brazil, Panos Pictures, dành cho Folha de Sao Paulo] 
General news – First prize, Story: A missile survived the bombardment of the city of Martuni (Khojavend) in Nagorno-Karabakh located on a field November 10 – the day of the peace agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan comes into force. [Valery Melnikov, Nga, Sputnik] 
Nature – First Prize, Singles: A Rothschild giraffe is brought to safety on a dedicated barge from the flooded Longicharo Island, Lake Baringo, western Kenya, December 3, 2020. [Ami Vitale, Mỹ, dành cho CNN] 
Nature – First Prize, Story: The daughter of photographer Merel cowered as a pigeon flew over and landed on a balcony, before entering her house, in Vlaardingen, Netherlands, April 6, 2020. [Jasper Doest, Hà Lan] 
Portrait – First prize, Singles: Ignat, a transgender man, with his girlfriend Maria in Saint Petersburg, Russia, April 23, 2020. [Oleg Ponomarev, Nga] 
Portrait – First prize, Story: Torrell Jasper, 35, poses with a gun in his backyard in Schriever, Louisiana, USA, on April 14, 2019. Formerly an American Marine, he learned to shoot from his father when he was a child. [Gabriele Galimberti, Ý, dành cho National Geographic] 
Sports – First prize, Singles: Georg trains for climbing a pile of wood in Kochel am See, Bavaria, Germany, on September 15, 2020. [Adam Pretty, Australia, Getty Images] 
Sports – First Prize, Story: A basketball column reinforced by coal blocks next to a street in the US city of Flint on February 25, 2020. FDT signboard is based on a famous song protesting Donald Trump. [Chris Donovan, Canada] 
News on the spot: First prize, Story: Firefighters extinguish a fire that engulfed a warehouse in Beirut, Lebanon, on August 4, 2020, after a fatal explosion at the port. [Lorenzo Tugnoli, Italy, Contrasto] 
Spot news – First Prize, Single: One man and one woman disagree about the dismantling of the Liberation Monument in Lincoln Park, Washington DC, June 25, 2020. [Evelyn Hockstein, Mỹ, dành cho The Washington Post]
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