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In this image released by World Press Photo, Thursday April 15, 2021, by Mads Nissen, Politiken, Panos Pictures, which won the World Press Photo of the Year award, and the first prize in the General News Singles category, titled The First Embrace, shows Rosa Luzia Lunardi (85) embraced by nurse Adriana Silva da Costa Souza, at Viva Bem care home, Sao Paulo, Brazil, on August 5, 2020. (Mads Nissen, Politiken, Panos Pictures, World Press Photo via AP)
THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) - A photo symbolizing "love and compassion" of an 85-year-old Brazilian woman getting her first embrace in five months from a nurse through a transparent "hug curtain" was named the World Press Photo of the Year on Thursday.
The choice of a winning photo portraying the global pandemic was almost inevitable for the contest covering a year in which news around the globe was dominated by the virus that has killed nearly 3 million people, including more than 360,000 in hard-hit Brazil.
The image by Danish photographer Mads Nissen captured the moment Rosa Luzia Lunardi was hugged by nurse Adriana Silva da Costa Souza at the Viva Bem care home in Sao Paulo on Aug. 5.
A curtain of clear plastic - its yellow edges folded into a shape resembling a pair of butterfly wings - offers protection, as does the nurse's face mask.
"This iconic image of COVID-19 memorializes the most extraordinary moment of our lives, everywhere," said jury member Kevin WY Lee. "I read vulnerability, loved ones, loss and separation, demise, but, importantly, also survival - all rolled into one graphic image. If you look at the image long enough, you'll see wings: a symbol of flight and hope."
The image taken by Nissen for the Panos Pictures agency and the Danish daily Politiken also won first prize in the prestigious contest's General News Singles category.
"The main message of this image is empathy. It's love and compassion," Nissen said in a comment released by contest organizers.
"It's a really, really hard, grim situation and then in that horror, in that suffering, I think this picture also brings some light," Nissen said at an online awards ceremony after being told he had won the award and the 5,000-euro ($6,000) prize that goes with it.
In this image released by World Press Photo, Thursday April 15, 2021, by Joshua Irwandi, titled The Human Cost of COVID-19, which won the second prize in the General News Singles category, shows The body of a suspected coronavirus victim, wrapped in yellow infectious-waste plastic, lies awaiting a body bag, in a hospital in Indonesia, on April, 18, 2020. (Joshua Irwandi, World Press Photo via AP)
Second place in the category was a far more grim COVID-19 image - the body of a suspected coronavirus victim tightly wrapped in plastic in a hospital in Indonesia on April 18 by Indonesian photographer Joshua Irwandi.
The pandemic even reached the Environment Singles category, with U.S. photographer Ralph Pace winning for his image of a curious California sea lion swimming toward a face mask drifting underwater at the Breakwater dive site in Monterey.
In this image released by World Press Photo, Thursday April 15, 2021, by Ralph Pace, titled California Sea Lion Plays with Mask, which won the first prize prize in the Environment Singles category, shows A curious California sea lion swims towards a face mask at the Breakwater dive site in Monterey, California, USA, on 19 November 2020. (Ralph Pace, World Press Photo via AP)
Judges looked at 74,470 photographs by 4,315 photographers before selecting winners in eight categories including general news, sports, the environment and portraits.
The World Press Photo Story of the Year was awarded to Italian documentary photographer Antonio Faccilongo, working for Getty Reportage, for a series titled "Habibi" about Palestinian detainees in Israeli prisons who smuggle their semen out of detention facilities in the hopes of raising a family.
Winner in the Spot News Singles category was an image embodying the debate on race in the United States. The photo by Evelyn Hockstein for The Washington Post shows a white man and a Black woman disagreeing about the removal of the Emancipation Memorial in Washington, D.C., which depicts a freed slave kneeling at Abraham Lincoln's feet.
The Black Lives Matter movement also featured, with Associated Press photographer John Minchillo's series about the aftermath of the killing of George Floyd taking third prize in the Spot News Stories category that was won by Italian Lorenzo Tugnoli working for Contrasto for a series of images documenting the devastating port blast in Beirut.
The Contemporary Issues Story category was won by Russian photographer Alexey Vasilyev with a series about the film industry in the northeast Russian region of Sakha. Associated Press photographer Maya Alleruzzo took second place in the category with a story about the Islamic State group enslaving Yazidi women in Iraq.
In this image released by World Press Photo, Thursday April 15, 2021, by Gabriele Galimberti for National Geographic, part of a series titled The 'Ameriguns' which won first prize in the Portraits Stories category, shows Torrell Jasper (35) poses with his firearms in the backyard of his house in Schriever, Louisiana, USA, on April 14, 2019. A former US Marine, he learned to shoot from his father as a child. (Gabriele Galimberti for National Geographic, World Press Photo via AP)
In this image released by World Press Photo, Thursday April 15, 2021, by Tomasz Markowski, titled Tour of Poland Cycling Crash, which won third prize in the Sports Singles category, shows Dutch cyclist, Dylan Groenewegen (left), crashes meters before the finish line, after colliding with fellow countryman Fabio Jakobsen during the first stage of the Tour of Poland, in Katowice, Poland, on August 5, 2020. (Tomasz Markowski, World Press Photo via AP)
In this image released by World Press Photo, Thursday April 15, 2021, by Ezra Acayan for Getty Images, part of a series titled Taal Volcano Eruption, which won second prize in the Nature Stories category, shows A resident of Talisay in Batangas washes down a car, which is covered in volcanic ash mixed with rain, as Taal Volcano erupts, Batangas, Philippines, on Jan. 12, 2020. (Ezra Acayan for Getty Images, World Press Photo via AP)
In this image released by World Press Photo, Thursday April 15, 2021, by Adam Pretty, Getty Images, titled Log Pile Bouldering, which won first prize in the Sports Singles category, shows Georg climbs a log pile while training for bouldering, in Kochel am See, Bavaria, Germany, on Sept. 15, 2020. (Adam Pretty, Getty Images, World Press Photo via AP)
In this image released by World Press Photo, Thursday April 15, 2021, by Jasper Doest, part of a series titled Pandemic Pigeons-A Love Story, which won first prize in the Nature Stories category, shows Ollie flies through the living room, after knocking over toys, in Vlaardingen, the Netherlands, on 30 April 2020. (Jasper Doest, World Press Photo via AP)
In this image released by World Press Photo, Thursday April 15, 2021, by Ami Vitale for CNN, titled Rescue of Giraffes from Flooding Island, which won the first prize in the Nature Singles category, shows A Rothschild's giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis rothschildi) is transported to safety in a custom-built barge from a flooded Longicharo Island, Lake Baringo, in western Kenya, on Dec. 3, 2020. (Ami Vitale for CNN, World Press Photo via AP)
In this image released by World Press Photo, Thursday April 15, 2021, by Laurence Geai, part of a series titled Pandemic in France, which won the third prize in the General News Stories category, shows A morgue employee transports a coffin from the fifth floor of an apartment block, in the Parisian suburb of Pantin, on April 23, 2020. (Laurence Geai, World Press Photo via AP)
In this image released by World Press Photo, Thursday April 15, 2021, by Luis Tato for The Washington Post, part of a series titled Locust Invasion in East Africa which won third prize in the Nature Stories category, shows Henry Lenayasa, chief of the settlement of Archers Post, in Samburu County, Kenya, tries to scare away a massive swarm of locusts ravaging grazing area, on 24 April 2020. Locust swarms devastated large areas of land, just as the coronavirus outbreak had begun to disrupt livelihoods. (Luis Tato for The Washington Post, World Press Photo via AP)
In this image released by World Press Photo, Thursday April 15, 2021, by Ciril Jazbec for National Geographic, titled One Way to Fight Climate Change: Make Your Own Glaciers, which won the second prize in the Environment Stories category, shows the youth group that built this ice stupa in the village of Gya installed a café in its base in India, March 19, 2019. They used the proceeds to take the village elders on a pilgrimage. (Ciril Jazbec for National Geographic, World Press Photo via AP)
In this image released by World Press Photo, Thursday April 15, 2021, by Jeremy Lempin, Divergence-Images, titled Doctor Peyo and Mister Hassen, which won second prize in the Contemporary Issues category, shows Marion (24), who has metastatic cancer, embraces her son Ethan (7) in the presence of Peyo, a horse used in animal-assisted therapy, in the Selene Palliative Care Unit at the Centre Hospitalier de Calais, in Calais, France, on 30 November 2020. (Jeremy Lempin, Divergence-Images, World Press Photo via AP)
In this image released by World Press Photo, Thursday April 15, 2021, by Vaghinak Ghazaryan, tittle Resting Soldier, which won the third prize in the Contemporary Issues Singles category shows a soldier who lies in a trench, resting on a plastic cover, in the northeastern part of Syunik, Nerkin Khndzoresk, Armenia, on 31 October 2020. (Vaghinak Ghazaryan, World Press Photo via AP)
In this image released by World Press Photo, Thursday April 15, 2021, by Roland Schmid, part of a series titled Cross-Border Love, which won the second prize in the General News Stories category, shows A Swiss-German couple meets at the closed border on Lettackerweg, in Riehen, Switzerland, on April 25, 2020. (Roland Schmid, World Press Photo via AP)
In this image released by World Press Photo, Thursday April 15, 2021, by Antonio Faccilongo, Getty Reportage, part of a series titled Habibi, which won the World Press Photo Story of the Year award and the first prize in Long-Term Projects category shows A portrait of Mazen Rimawi, a former Palestinian political prisoner and uncle to Majd Rimawi, whose father is serving a 25-year sentence, on 22 December 2019. Majd was born in 2013, following IVF. (Antonio Faccilongo, Getty Reportage, World Press Photo via AP)
In this image released by World Press Photo, Thursday April 15, 2021, by Lorenzo Tugnoli, Contrasto, for The Washington Post, part of a series titled Port Explosion in Beirut, which won first prize in the Spot News Stories category, shows An injured man stands near the site of a massive explosion in the port of Beirut, Lebanon, while firefighters work to put out the fires that engulfed the warehouses after the explosion, on August 4, 2020. (Lorenzo Tugnoli, Contrasto, for The Washington Post, World Press Photo via AP)
In this image released by World Press Photo, Thursday April 15, 2021, by Lorenzo Tugnoli, Contrasto, for The Washington Post, part of a series titled Port Explosion in Beirut, which won first prize in the Spot News Stories category, shows Firefighters work to put out the fires that engulfed warehouses in Beirut, Lebanon, on August 4, 2020, after a massive explosion in the port. Up to ten firefighters died in the blast. (Lorenzo Tugnoli, Contrasto, for The Washington Post, World Press Photo via AP)
In this image released by World Press Photo, Thursday April 15, 2021, by Lorenzo Tugnoli, Contrasto, for The Washington Post, part of a series titled Port Explosion in Beirut, which won first prize in the Spot News Stories category, shows Abdullah Dalloul walks in the ruins of his former home on August 14, 2020, which was destroyed by the blast in the port of Beirut, Lebanon. Following the explosion, he and his family squatted in the damaged building with no water or electricity. (Lorenzo Tugnoli, Contrasto, for The Washington Post, World Press Photo via AP)
In this image released by World Press Photo, Thursday April 15, 2021, by John Minchillo, Associated Press, part of a series titled Minneapolis Unrest: The George Floyd Aftermath, which won third prize in the Spot News Stories category, shows Protesters and residents watch as police in riot gear walk down a residential street, in St Paul, Minnesota, USA, on May 28, 2020. (John Minchillo, Associated Press, World Press Photo via AP)
In this image released by World Press Photo, Thursday April 15, 2021, by John Minchillo, Associated Press, part of a series titled Minneapolis Unrest: The George Floyd Aftermath, which won third prize in the Spot News Stories category, shows Protesters join arms in defiance during a demonstration outside the burning Minneapolis Police Department 3rd Precinct building, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA, on 28 May 2020. (John Minchillo, Associated Press, World Press Photo via AP)
In this image released by World Press Photo, Thursday April 15, 2021, by John Minchillo, Associated Press, part of a series titled Minneapolis Unrest: The George Floyd Aftermath, which won third prize in the Spot News Stories category, shows Police fire tear gas on demonstrators at the intersection of East Lake Street and Hiawatha Avenue in St Paul, Minnesota, USA, on May 29, 2020, near the precinct station of the officers who arrested George Floyd. (John Minchillo, Associated Press, World Press Photo via AP)
In this image released by World Press Photo, Thursday April 15, 2021, by John Minchillo, Associated Press, part of a series titled Minneapolis Unrest: The George Floyd Aftermath, which won third prize in the Spot News Stories category, shows Protesters raise their fists in defiance outside a burning fast-food restaurant near the precinct station of the officers who arrested Floyd, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA, on May 29, 2020. (John Minchillo, Associated Press, World Press Photo via AP)
In this image released by World Press Photo, Thursday April 15, 2021, by Nuno Andre Ferreira, Agencia Lusa, titled Forest Fire, which won third prize in the Spot News Singles category, shows A child sits inside a car close by a forest fire in Oliveira de Frades, Portugal, on Sept. 7, 2020. (Nuno Andre Ferreira, Agencia Lusa, World Press Photo via AP)
In this image released by World Press Photo, Thursday April 15, 2021, by Jaime Culebras titled New Life, which won third prize in the Nature Singles category, shows The eggs of a Wiley's glass frog, Nymphargus wileyi, hang on the tip of a leaf in Tropical Andean cloud forest, near the Yanayacu Biological Station, Napo, Ecuador, on July 25, 2020. (Jaime Culebras, World Press Photo via AP)
In this image released by World Press Photo, Thursday April 15, 2021, by Chris Donovan, part of a series titled Those Who Stay Will Be Champions which won first prize in the Sports Stories category, shows Jaguars player D'Angelo Mays plays with a basketball in his bedroom at home, on Feb. 27, 2020. (Chris Donovan, World Press Photo via AP)
In this image released by World Press Photo, Thursday April 15, 2021, by Fereshteh Eslahi, Podium Photos, titled Thoughts of Flight, part of a series which won third prize in the Sports Stories category, shows Saeed Ramin, a professional traceur (practitioner of parkour) enjoys time with friends at Kosar Dam Lake, near Gachsaran, Iran, on Sept. 9, 2020. (Fereshteh Eslahi, Podium Photos, World Press Photo via AP)
