The Boeoegg, a giant symbolic snowman made of wadding and and filled with firecrackers burns on top of a bonfire in Sechselaeuten square on April 24, 2017 in Zurich. When the bells of the Saint Peter's church chime six o'clock, the bonfire under the snowman is set in fire and the guildsmen wearing historical costumes ride around the bonfire. The faster the head of the snowman explods the warmer and more beautiful the summer will be. (Photo by Michael Buholzer/AFP Photo)

Runner-up. “The heavens opened and the streets around Shibuya, Tokyo, were suddenly drenched in even more colour and movement. I was taking photos (my friend was holding the umbrella) when I noticed this woman at the crossing. I’m pleased with the futuristic feel of the image”. (Photo by Katherine Bridgestock/The Guardian)

Staff at a Scottish farm say they are “absolutely delighted” to have welcomed a baby alpaca into the world this morning, June 6, 2019. Mum, Nunavut, gave birth to the baby boy huacaya alpaca, which has not yet been named, weighing 9.6kg. Stuart Ramsay, the owner of Velvet Hall Alpacas, in Innerleithen, Scottish Borders said he was surprised when the baby was born an “unusual rose grey colour”. (Photo by South West News Service)

People take part in a gay pride parade in Warsaw, Poland, on Saturday, June 8, 2019. The Equality Parade is the largest gay pride parade in central and Eastern Europe. It brought thousands of people to the streets of Warsaw at a time when the LGBT rights movement in Poland is targeted by hate speeches and a government campaign depicting it as a threat to families and society. (Photo by Czarek Sokolowski/AP Photo)

This perfectly-timed GoPro snap captures the moment an angrymagpiecame within inches of a biker, as swooping season takes hold in Australia. The notoriously aggressive bird can be seen flying with its wings tucked in so it looks exactly like a torpedo in the magnificent photograph from Middlemount, Queensland. Retail businesswoman Monique Newton, 53 was riding pillion with a friend when she spied the divebombing bird – but rather than speed off, they slowed down to capture it up close. (Photo by Monique Newton/Caters News Agency)

Mailin Gobbo reacts as she leaves the courtroom after hearing a judge acquit former Catholic Priest Carlos Eduardo Jose, who she says sexually abused her for years when she was an adolescent, in San Martin, Argentina, Tuesday, March 9, 2021. The court acquitted the 62-year-old, citing the statute of limitations had run out. (Photo by Natacha Pisarenko/AP Photo)

Polar frame, by Dmitry Kokh, Russia. When Kokh’s boat approached the small island of Kolyuchin in the Russian High Arctic, which had been abandoned by humans since 1992, he was surprised to spot movement in one of the houses. Binoculars revealed polar bears – more than 20 in total – exploring the ghost town. Dmitry used a low-noise drone to document them. (Photo by Dmitry Kokh/Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2022)

A woman carries an umbrella during a heat wave in Rome, Italy, 16 July 2023. Italy is facing the third heatwave of the summer on 16 July bringing record temperatures. The new heatwave is forecast to peak on 18 July, when temperatures in areas of southern Sardinian may reach 48 degrees Celsius, according to forecasts. On 15 July, the health ministry has put on red alert major Italian cities. (Photo by Massimo Percossi/EPA)