Entitled Feasting at Sunset, this photo of a Brandt’s cormorant among pilchards was the winner of the Birds in the Environment category in the 2025 Bird Photographer of the Year competition. (Photo by Franco Banfi/The Guardian)

Holocaust survivors are seen backstage during a beauty contest for survivors of the Nazi genocide in the northern Israeli city of Haifa, November 24, 2015. Thirteen women took part in the third annual beauty contest for Holocaust survivors in Israel on Tuesday. (Photo by Amir Cohen/Reuters)

A Japanese girl participates in a calligraphy contest to the celebrate the New Year in Tokyo January 5, 2015. Over 3,000 calligraphers, having qualified in country wide competitions throughout Japan, took part in the annual contest to celebrate the new year. (Photo by Issei Kato/Reuters)

Contestant of the Muslimah World 2013, Obabiyi Aishah Ajibola (C) of Nigeria, is reflected in a mirror checking her make-up while contestants wait for a grand final during the Muslimah World competition in Jakarta on September 18, 2013. (Photo by Adek Berry/AFP Photo)

A participant kisses a trout after catching it with his bare hands during a trout catching contest at a pool in Hwacheon, South Korea, Saturday, January 7, 2023. The contest is part of an annual ice festival which draws over one million visitors every year. (Photo by Ahn Young-joon/AP Photo)

Contestants compete in the swimsuit segment of the Miss Venezuela 2016 pageant in Caracas, Venezuela October 5, 2016. (Photo by Marco Bello/Reuters)

Dog groomers participate in a contest at the “Interpets” international pet fair in Tokyo, Japan, 01 April 2021. (Photo by Franck Robichon/EPA/EFE)

Ximena Rivero of Peru competes in the South American Pole Dance Championship in Buenos Aires November 24, 2014. Participants from throughout South America will be vying for the top spots in the two-day competition, with the winners qualifying for the 2015 World Pole Dance Championship in Hong Kong. (Photo by Enrique Marcarian/Reuters)