THE annual World Press Photo exhibition will be returning to Singapore this month, bringing together 151 award-winning photographs from different countries. The showcase, which has been hailed as the "Oscars" of photo-journalism, selects the best of 98,671 entries submitted by 5,754 photographers.
The event, which has no admission charges, will be held at the Raffles Hotel from Jan 10 to Feb 1. The Straits Times is the presenter of the exhibition.
Mr Patrick Daniel, editor-in-chief of the English and Malay Newspapers Division of Singapore Press Holdings, said the exhibition would be a "tribute to the photo-journalists who work tirelessly and bravely to make us all more aware of what's happening around the world - at times risking their lives to bring us compelling photos".
The work of photo-journalists was also noted by Canon, the exhibition's global sponsor.
"Photo-journalists hold the powerful ability to narrate impactful stories through spellbinding images that transcend geographical and cultural barriers, deepening our understanding of the wider community," said Mr Edwin Teoh, assistant director for consumer business marketing at Canon Singapore.
Other local sponsors and supporters include Raffles Hotel and the Singapore Press Club.
This will be the fourth time that the event has come to Singapore, previously being held here in 2002, 2006 and earlier this year at Raffles Hotel, where it drew some 20,000 visitors.
Said Mr Fabian Tan, 26, a researcher who attended the exhibition in March: "Perspective, tension, beauty, emotion all beautifully captured - this exhibit is an inspiration, as well as a gateway to the world."
SAMANTHA GOH
A group of blind albino boys photographed in their boarding room at the Vivekananda mission school for the blind in West Bengal, India on Sept 25, 2013. This is one of the very few schools for the blind in India today. -- PHOTO: Brent Stirton, South Africa, Reportage by Getty Images
African migrants on the shore of Djibouti city at night on Feb 26, 2013, raising their phones in an attempt to capture an inexpensive signal from neighboring Somalia - a tenuous link to relatives abroad. Djibouti is a common stop-off point for migrants in transit from such countries as Somalia, Ethiopia and Eritrea, seeking a better life in Europe and the Middle East. -- PHOTO: John Stanmeyer, USA, VII for National Geographic
Two victims amid the rubble of the garment factory collapse at Rana Plaza, Savar, Dhaka, Bangladesh on April 25, 2013. -- PHOTO: Taslima Akhter, Bangladesh
Survivors of typhoon Haiyan march during a religious procession in Tolosa, on the eastern island of Leyte on Nov 18, 2013. One of the strongest cyclones ever recorded, Haiyan left 8,000 people dead and missing and more than four million homeless after it hit the central Philippines. -- PHOTO: Philippe Lopez, France, Agence France-Presse
Syrian rebel fighters take cover amid flying debris and shrapnel after being hit by a tank shell fired towards them by the Syrian Army in the Ain Tarma neighborhood of Damascus on Jan 30, 2013. -- PHOTO: Goran Tomasevic, Serbia, Reuters
A woman and children hiding in the Westgate mall. They escaped unharmed after gunmen had opened fire at the upscale Nairobi mall on Sept 21, 2013. At least 39 people were killed in one of the worst terrorist attacks in Kenya's history. -- PHOTO: Tyler Hicks, USA, The New York Times
As the fight continued to rage, Shane told Maggie that she could choose between getting beaten in the kitchen, or going with him to the basement so they could talk privately. Shot on Nov 17, 2012, in Lancaster, US. -- PHOTO: Sara Naomi Lewkowicz, USA, for Time
Kachin Independence Army fighters are drinking and celebrating at a funeral of one of their commanders who died the day before. The city is under siege by the Burmese army. -- PHOTO: Julius Schrank, Germany, for De Volkskrant
Pablo Mac Donough of Dolfina falls from his horse during the Argentine Polo Open in Buenos Aires, Argentina on Dec 1, 2013. -- PHOTO: Emiliano Lasalvia, Argentina, for La Nación
A woman reacts in disappointment after access to see former South Africa President Nelson Mandela was closed on the third and final day of his casket lying in state, outside Union Buildings in Pretoria, South Africa on Dec 13, 2013. -- PHOTO: Markus Schreiber, Germany, The Associated Press
A group of blind albino boys photographed in their boarding room at the Vivekananda mission school for the blind in West Bengal, India on Sept 25, 2013. This is one of the very few schools for the blind in India today. -- PHOTO: Brent Stirton, South Africa, Reportage by Getty Images
