Harrowing Bondi terror attack image recognised in 2026 World Press Photo winners shortlist

9 April 2026

The World Press Photo has announced the winners of its 2026 contest, showcasing powerful visual storytelling from across the globe.

This year’s competition drew 57,376 entries from 3,747 photographers spanning 141 countries, with the winning images offering a sweeping look at both major global events and quieter, deeply personal stories.

The Sydney Morning Herald's Edwina Pickles was recognised for her image Bondi Beach Terror Attack, which depicts an overwhelmed police officer leaning over near the bodies of Boris (69) and Sofia (61) Gurman.

During the Bondi Beach Terror Attack, the couple were killed while attempting to disarm one of the shooters.

Asia Pacific And Oceania, Edwina Pickles-The Sydney Morning Herald. *Bondi Beach Terror Attack*

Sydney's Matthew Abbott, a previous winner of World Press Photo, was also recognised for his series The Last Dolphin Hunters, photographed for Oculi and The New York Times.

Asia Pacific And Oceania, Matthew Abbott, Oculi for The New York Times. Fanalei, a low-lying island in the Solomon Islands, stands at a crossroads between contested tradition and a changing economy. For generations, dolphin hunting provided food and income, with dolphin teeth used as ritual currency for bride-price and other forms of local exchange. Today, as rising sea levels displace the community and threaten its future, seaweed farming is providing an economic alternative to the seasonal hunt. Here, a young man drags a dolphin toward the shore in Walande. While Fanalei struggled this season, the larger sister community of Walande successfully landed a catch to share across the Surodo Lagoon.

From conflict zones in Ukraine and Palestine to climate-affected regions in the Philippines and Norway, the awarded projects capture a world shaped by crisis, resilience and change.

Alongside these are more intimate narratives, including portraits of young ballet dancers in South Africa, women horseriders in Morocco, and families impacted by immigration enforcement in the United States.

Nature and the environment also feature strongly, with striking images ranging from an elephant cull in Zimbabwe to a polar bear perched atop a sperm whale, and a close-up study of a panda in a Chinese national park.

Executive director Joumana El Zein Khoury said the integrity of the judging process remains central to the awards.

“I have deep respect for the thoughtful process behind every story we award,” she said. “The jury’s intentionality is, and will continue to be, the source of the public’s trust in World Press Photo.”

You can see a selection of some of the more than 130 images recognised in the shortlist below, and all the winners on the World Press Photo website.

*Mexico, A Changing Climate.* © César Rodríguez, Norwegian Red Cross, SNCA, *The New York Times.*
A child runs up to the second floor of a partially submerged home. The 2024 floods affected 7,000 residents. Many families lost personal belongings like photographs and other cherished items. Chalco, State of Mexico, Mexico, 19 August 2024.

*Los Angeles on Fire* © Ethan Swope, for Associated Press. In January 2025, severe drought and 100-mph (roughly 160-kph) Santa Ana winds fueled 14 devastating wildfires across Los Angeles, destroying over 18,000 buildings and displacing 200,000 residents. Here, the fire ravages a neighborhood amid high winds. The Los Angeles blazes inflicted between $28 and $53.8 billion in property damage, disrupting thousands of local businesses. Los Angeles, California, United States, 7 January 2025.

Title: *Hijacked Education* © Diego Ibarra Sánchez. Across the world, war, extremism, and displacement deny children the right to education. Schools are destroyed, teachers killed or forced to relocate, textbooks burned, and classrooms turned into barracks. The UN estimates that 85 million of the 234 million school-age children affected by conflict worldwide have no access to education at all. Since 2011, the photographer – son of a teacher and father of an 11-year-old – has documented this crisis across nine countries, from Western and South Asia, to Europe and South America. Here, female students attend class at their school, which was attacked by the Taliban on 21 December 2012 as part of a campaign to prevent girls from accessing education. Swabi, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan, 4 June 2013.

Title: *Burned Land* © Brais Lorenzo, EFE, Revista 5W, *El País. 2*025 was a record year for wildfires in Europe. More than 200,000 hectares burned across Galicia during Spain’s worst fire season in about three decades. Here,
a man fights a wildfire with a branch in Cualedro. When resources are stretched, residents use whatever is available to extinguish flames, including branches, farming tools, and water hoses. Ourense, Galicia, Spain, 15 August 2025.

Title: *Mountain Resident of Wanglang* © Rob G. Green, National Geographic Society, Henry Luce Foundation.
A wild giant panda is captured by a camera trap in the Wanglang National Nature Reserve. Sichuan, China, 11 November 2025.

Title: *Emma the Social Robot* © Paula Hornickel.
Waltraud talks with Emma, a social robot that recognizes faces and remembers past conversations. Though skeptical at first, Waltraud says she felt connected to Emma over time. Albershausen, Germany, 3 July 2025. Germany’s care homes are facing two crises: staff shortages and loneliness. A 2023 study found that one in five residents aged 80 and older describe themselves as “severely lonely.” This reality has prompted trials of social robots like Emma, developed by a Munich-based startup. Waltraud, a resident of Haus im Wiesengrund in Albershausen, had her doubts but over time formed a bond with Emma. “When she tells her jokes, that’s really good. That’s my kind of humor,” says Waltraud, though she emphasizes that human contact is always preferable.

Title: *Extramuros* © William Keo, La Bibliothèque Nationale de France, *Die Zeit.* In the peripheral neighborhoods of France’s *banlieues*, migrant families navigate postcolonial legacies, higher rates of unemployment, and structural inequality. France’s integration system requires migrants to culturally assimilate while prejudice persists, leaving communities caught between exclusion and belonging. Yet these communities are also spaces of creativity and resilience that shape contemporary French culture. Documenting his friends and family, the photographer – born to Cambodian refugees – portrays lives in which community and solidarity are the clearest markers of identity. Here, Mehdi, of Algerian origin and originally from the Bosquets housing project in Montfermeil, competes in a street fight organized by CanalPourss, a local initiative that uses boxing to reduce violence. Marseille, France, 27 July 2024.

Title: *Polar Bear on Sperm Whale* © Roie Galitz.
A female polar bear feeds on a sperm whale carcass in the polar pack ice north of the Norwegian archipelago, Svalbard. 82° North, International Waters, 8 July 2025.

Title: *A Desperate Plea* © Tyrone Siu, Reuters.
A massive fire at the Wang Fuk Court housing complex in Tai Po claimed 168 lives, becoming Hong Kong’s deadliest fire since 1948. While no official cause has been reported, investigations by Hong Kong authorities found that bamboo scaffolding, construction netting, and flammable Styrofoam boards on windows acted as accelerants for the fire, trapping residents inside. More than 2,000 firefighters were involved in rescue efforts, killing one and injuring twelve. Here, Mr Wong cries out in anguish as fire engulfs the Tai Po housing complex he calls home. Moments earlier, he phoned his wife, who was trapped in the building, and they exchanged what would be their final words. Hong Kong, 26 November 2025.

Title: *Engla Louise* © Sanna Sjöswärd, for *Corren.* Engla Louise, a former dancer, has lived with severe anorexia nervosa since she was ten years old. At 46, she weighs less than 25 kilograms and has been tube-fed since 2019. Here, Engla Louise celebrates her 46th birthday on a day trip to Löfstad Castle with her father, Hans Ericsson.