On World Press Freedom Day, Eidos Foundation announces the official opening of the World Press Photo 2025 exhibition in Romania. From May 2 to June 2, residents and visitors of Bucharest are invited to explore dozens of images that travel the world, displayed outdoors in University Square, with free public access.
The most powerful stories of the past year — about conflict, migration, the climate crisis, protest, identity, and resilience — are all part of this anniversary edition, marking 70 years of World Press Photo.
42 winning projects, 141 countries represented
This year’s selection was made from over 59,320 photographs submitted by 3,778 photographers from 141 countries. The 42 winning projects tell powerful stories from today’s world: from injured children in Gaza to the Amazon’s water crisis, from mass protests in Kenya and Myanmar to the quiet courage of an LGBTQI+ community in Nigeria.
The 2025 Photo of the Year was taken by Palestinian photographer Samar Abu Elouf for The New York Times: a deeply moving portrait of nine-year-old Mahmoud Ajjour, severely injured in an airstrike in Gaza.
Cristian Movilă, founder of the Eidos Foundation, said: “Truth doesn’t disappear just because we choose to ignore it. Sometimes it’s hard to look it in the eye — and that’s exactly when it matters most. The World Press Photo exhibition is an exercise in lucid imagination: what would our own reality look like if we were the ones living these stories? The exhibition may not offer answers, but it reminds us that every choice — or indifference — carries real echoes. And consequences.”
Laura Mihăilă, Director of Marketing, Communication & CX at Raiffeisen Bank Romania, added: “In today’s world, with so many opportunities for artistic expression both online and offline, journalism must truly act as the ‘fourth estate.’ It is our collective responsibility to ensure the existence of free, high-quality journalism, to support editorial content and the teams that produce it. Photojournalism is a powerful form of expression that stands at the intersection of art and journalism, and World Press Photo honors the year’s most impactful images. We are proud to once again partner with the Eidos Foundation. We invite everyone to visit the world’s most important photojournalism exhibition. These images will be seen by hundreds of thousands of people passing through University Square. Let this be a reminder of the importance of press freedom — and a moment to celebrate the most powerful photographs of 2024.”
A visual manifesto at a crucial time
The exhibition comes to Bucharest at a key moment — just ahead of national elections, and during a time when press freedom, access to reliable information, and the courage to document the truth are more essential than ever to the future of our society.
World Press Photo 2025 offers not only striking photography, but also a space for reflection — on who we are, what we choose to see, and how we choose to get involved.
The exhibition is free to visit, outdoors, in University Square, Bucharest, from May 2 to June 2, 2025.
The World Press Photo Exhibition is brought to Romania by the Eidos Foundation, in partnership with Raiffeisen Bank, with the support of the Ministry of Culture, and organized as part of the “Open Streets – Bucharest, Urban Promenade” program, a project of the Bucharest City Hall through the Department for Culture, Education and Tourism, alongside ARCUB – The Cultural Center of Bucharest and PROEDUS – The Educational and Sports Projects Center of Bucharest, as local operators.