Wildlife Photographer of the Year reveals sneak peek of remarkable pictures from record-breaking 12 months of competitors entries

The exhibition will highlight inspiring and {powerful} photos of our pure world, chosen from a record-breaking over 65,000 entries and judged anonymously on their creativity, originality, technical excellence and the often-powerful tales they inform by a global panel of skilled judges throughout wildlife images, filmmaking, science and conservation.

(c) Jens Cullman, courtesy Wildlife Photographer of the Year

The newly launched photos embrace an inquisitive polar bear gazing down a seal’s respiratory gap within the Arctic sea ice by photographer Audun Rikardsen, and the fantastically intertwined lives of a rhino and an oxpecker by Ernest Porter, exhibiting the fowl because it cleans its invoice towards the rhino’s pores and skin within the smooth afternoon gentle. Other launched photos embrace younger photographer Jack Crockford’s swift silhouetted towards an incoming airplane to Heathrow Airport, London, and Allegra Hutton’s shot of a younger leopard chasing a squirrel up a tree in Botswana’s Okavango Delta.

The class winners and the celebrated Grand Title and Young Grand Title awards will probably be introduced on Tuesday 13 October 2026 at a ceremony hosted on the Natural History Museum by wildlife TV presenters and conservationists Chris Packham and Megan McCubbin. The ceremony will probably be accessible to observe stay on the Natural History Museum’s YouTube channel.

(c) Ernest Porter, courtesy Wildlife Photographer of the Year

Kathy Moran, Chair of the Wildlife Photographer of the Year Jury, says: “Every 12 months I believe the entries to our competitors can’t get any stronger… and yearly I’m confirmed improper! Selected from a record-breaking 65,403 photos, this preview presents only a small perception into the 100 unimaginable photos in retailer for guests to our exhibition in October. These photos pave the best way for a deepened appreciation and dedication to our pure world.”

Dr Doug Gurr, Director of the Natural History Museum, says: “Through a collection of truly extraordinary images, selected from a global reach of 121 countries and territories, this exhibition offers visitors a rare opportunity to experience the wonder of our planet through the eyes of some of the world’s most talented photographers. At a time when nature is under more pressure than ever before, these photographs remind us of both what is at stake and what is worth protecting. It will be impossible to leave without feeling a renewed sense of wonder for our incredible planet.”

The exhibition can even proceed to assist guests perceive how our planet’s habitats are altering by offering perception into the Natural History Museum’s groundbreaking metric, the Biodiversity Intactness Index (BII). BII measures how a lot of a area’s pure biodiversity stays on a scale of 0 to 100%. Adopted as an official Global Biodiversity Framework indicator for decision-making, it’s a vital instrument for understanding, monitoring and speaking biodiversity modifications on a worldwide scale and monitoring worldwide progress in direction of conservation objectives.

Our Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition is supported by Lead Corporate Sponsor, Nuveen.

Bill Huffman, CEO, Nuveen, says: “We’re delighted to celebrate the remarkable vision and creativity of this year’s Wildlife Photographer of the Year entrants. Each entry shares a unique perspective and challenges us to consider powerful themes, including the bonds between nature and humanity. We are equally proud to continue our partnership with The Natural History Museum, a renowned British institution whose work has inspired generations to deepen their understanding of the living world and their place within it. Together, we honour the power of storytelling to spark curiosity, inspire stewardship, and foster a greater appreciation for the planet we all share.”

Tickets are on sale now for the sixty-second version of Wildlife Photographer of the Year which launches on the Natural History Museum on Friday 16 October 2026 and runs till Sunday 11 July 2027. The exhibition can even embark on a UK and worldwide tour to encourage hundreds of thousands to understand and preserve the pure world.

#ENDS#

NOTES TO EDITORS

Images and Media Contact

Please contact Laura Gosney, Communications Manager, at [email protected]

Exhibition at Natural History Museum, London

• Adult tickets from £19.00*, concession tickets £15.20*, and youngster tickets £9.50*. Off-peak grownup tickets from £17.00, off-peak concession ticket £13.60, and off-peak youngster ticket £8.50 (*Prices excluding non-obligatory Gift Aid donation to the Museum)

• The exhibition is open Monday – Sunday, 10.00-17.50 (final admission at 16.30), and weekends promote out shortly

• Wildlife Photographer of the Year Portfolio 36, edited by Keith Wilson and with a foreword by Kathy Moran, will probably be printed on 14 October 2026, RRP £28

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Our Next Competition

• Entrants aged 18-26 and beneath might enter as much as 25 photos totally free, and entrants aged 17 and beneath might enter as much as 10 photos totally free. Entrants from 114 nations throughout Africa, Southeast Asia and South America also can enter totally free (please discover the complete record within the hyperlink under)

About Wildlife Photographer of the Year

Now in its sixty-first 12 months, Wildlife Photographer of the Year is the Natural History Museum, London’s, world platform for the world’s finest nature images and wildlife photojournalism. Our annual competitors, receiving over 65,000 entries, is open to photographers of all ages, nationalities and expertise ranges. With our touring exhibition and outreach actions partaking hundreds of thousands across the globe yearly, we invite ever extra individuals to have a good time and advocate for the pure world.

About the Natural History Museum, London

The Natural History Museum is a world-leading scientific analysis centre and the UK’s primary customer attraction. 

We are welcoming greater than 7 million individuals to our blockbuster exhibitions, galleries and gardens and our 350 scientists are discovering options to the planetary emergency – from reversing biodiversity loss to resourcing the inexperienced financial system. 

With over 80 million specimens, spanning 4.5 billion years, the breadth and depth of the Museum’s assortment make it a very powerful of its variety on the planet.  

Through our NHM150 marketing campaign, we’re elevating a further £150 million to rework our iconic constructing and meet our mission of making over 100 million advocates for the planet by 2031 – the Museum’s one hundred and fiftieth anniversary. 

About Nuveen

Nuveen is a worldwide funding chief, managing $1.4T(1) in private and non-private belongings for shoppers all over the world, as of June 30, 2026. With broad experience throughout earnings and alternate options, we spend money on the expansion of companies, actual property, infrastructure, and pure capital, offering shoppers with the reliability, entry, and foresight distinctive to our 125+ 12 months heritage. Our prevailing perspective on the long run drives our ambition to innovate and adapt our enterprise to the altering wants of buyers — all to pursue lasting efficiency for our shoppers, our communities, and our world financial system.

(1) As at 30 June 2026