World Press Photo 2026 brings the world’s most striking news photographs to London
The annual exhibition of award-winning photojournalism opens at the new MPB Gallery in Bermondsey on 21 August, bringing 42 winning stories from around the world to the capital
A new photography gallery in Bermondsey is getting a major opening act this summer, with the World Press Photo Exhibition 2026 arriving at MPB Gallery on 21 August.
The exhibition will bring together the 42 winning photographers from this year’s World Press Photo Contest, presenting photographs and documentary projects covering war, political upheaval, climate change, protest, migration, resistance and cultural life. It runs at MPB Gallery, 42–44 Bermondsey Street, until 30 September.
The winning work was selected from 57,376 photographs submitted by 3,747 photographers across 141 countries, judged by an independent jury of 31 professionals from around the world. The selection includes major news stories alongside subjects that have received considerably less attention.
Credit: © Carol Guzy, ZUMA Press, iWitness, for Miami Herald
The World Press Photo of the Year is Separated by ICE by American photographer Carol Guzy. Taken in New York in August 2025, it shows an Ecuadorian migrant being detained by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement following an immigration court hearing, while his family is left behind. The image was selected from the 42 regional winners as the overall winner.
The two finalists for the main prize are Aid Emergency in Gaza by Saber Nuraldin, showing Palestinians attempting to obtain flour from an aid truck, and The Trials of the Achi Women by Victor J. Blue, documenting Maya Achi women in Guatemala after a 14-year fight for justice following sexual violence.
The wider exhibition moves well beyond the three headline images. This year’s winners include photographs of the war in Ukraine, political protests in the US, Nepal and Madagascar, the climate crisis in places including Los Angeles, Mexico, the Philippines and Norway, and women’s rights movements in Guatemala and Kenya. There are also stories of rebuilding, resilience, cultural traditions and everyday life.
World Press Photo says the winning work reflects a world marked by “fracture, urgency and yet an innate resilience”. The organisation has also emphasised the importance of local perspectives in this year’s selection, with the winning photographs offering both broad views of global events and intimate accounts from people close to the stories they document.
For Londoners, the exhibition offers a chance to see the photographs away from the fleeting pace of a news feed, gathered together in a physical exhibition and presented as part of the wider stories behind them. The 2026 exhibition is touring internationally, with London one of more than 60 locations showing the winning work.
World Press Photo was founded in 1955 and has grown into an international annual exhibition of photojournalism and documentary photography. The 2026 contest is the 69th annual edition.
World Press Photo Exhibition 2026
Where: MPB Gallery, 42–44 Bermondsey Street, London SE1 3UD
When: 21 August–30 September 2026
Nearest station: London Bridge, around a 10-minute walk
Opening hours: Monday–Friday, 11am–8pm; Saturday, Sunday and bank holidays, 10am–6pm
Tickets: £17.50 adults; £13.50 off-peak/concession; £8.50 ages 12–16; under-12s free.
Featured image: Africa SIN Ihsaan Haffejee for GroundUp
Elena Leo is the Culture & Lifestyle Editor of Ikon London Magazine.
