Pangolins in Crisis: Brent Stirton, South Africa; 1st place, Natural world and wildlife. “Pangolins are the world’s most illegally trafficked mammals, with an estimated one million trafficked to Asia in the last 10 years. Their scales are used in traditional Chinese and Vietnamese medicine, and their meat is sold as a high-priced delicacy. As a result, pangolins are listed as critically endangered and anyone who trades or consumes them is breaking the law. This body of work exposes the trade, while exploring aspects of illegality and celebrating the people who are trying to save these animals”. (Photo by Brent Stirton/Sony World Photography Awards 2020)

People in ethnic costumes jump over a bonfire during Ivan Kupala Day celebrations held by the Pripyat River in the town of Turauin Gomel Region, Belarus on July 6, 2020. Ivan Kupala Day, also known as Ivana-Kupala or Kupala Night, is a traditional pagan holiday celebrated in eastern Slavic cultures. Various rituals are traditionally performed on Kupala Night, including making flower wreaths, fortune-telling, jumping over bonfires, and burning a wheel-like effigy symbolizing the sun. (Photo by Natalia Fedosenko/TASS)

People participate in a pillow fight to mark International Pillow Fight Day in the Heroes' Square, in central Budapest, Hungary, Saturday, April 2, 2016. The Pillow Fight Day attracts tens of thousands people in more than 100 cities all over the World each year. ((Photo by Zoltan Balogh/MTI via AP Photo)

A winter swimmer, wearing a Santa Claus hat to celebrate the upcoming Christmas, reacts as he plays on a frozen lake at a park in Shenyang, Liaoning province, December 22, 2014. The characters on the hat read: “Shenyang Winter Swimming”. (Photo by Reuters/Stringer)

Artists and dancers perform dances during the Qhapaq Raymi (summer solstice) Festival in Cusco, Peru on December 21, 2022. Cusco is one of the most touristic cities in Peru and tries to return to normality, after two weeks of intense demonstrations in the country that left a balance of 26 deaths nationwide. (Photo by Lucas Aguayo Araos/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

A woman reacts with flour over her face while playing a game with cake-making ingredients as part of local festivities marking Myanmar's 70th Independence Day in Yangon on January 4, 2018. The country is celebrating the 70th anniversary of its declaration of independence from British colonial rule. (Photo by Ye Aung Thu/AFP Photo)

Shortlist, open competition, lifestyle. Healing Vibes – the hot springs of Bagno Vignoni in Italy flow out at a temperature of about 49°C. They were appreciated by the Romans for their healing powers, and have been used as therapeutic treatments since the 12th century, under Emperor Federico II. (Photo by Stefano Butturini/Sony World Photography Awards)

Diver Sven, still in disguise, cleans the aquarium glass after a Santa Claus visit to the fish at Sea Life Berlin on December 6, 2021. (Photo by Christoph Soeder/dpa)