Chaos and fire, silence and powerlessness. 2024 in photos
Photo: ALAA AL-MARJANI / Reuters / Forum
From conflicts and devastating disasters, through crowds at the ballot box, in the streets and arenas, to intimate ceremonies. Photographers from all over the world were always there to capture the big moments, as well as the smaller ones. We chose photos that are devastatingly sad, but also stunningly beautiful. This is how this year was captured on camera.
Over one and a half billion people turned out to vote this year. This is more than ever before. From Canada to South Korea, from Moldova after Senegal. There and in many other countries it was decided how the world would be governed. While some looked with hope at changes in the highest positions, others looked bitterly at the cementing of an increasingly populist balance of power.
The votes landed in the ballot boxes at a time when… Ukraine and the Middle East there were armed conflicts, food and energy prices were rising, Taylor Swift and Oasis were selling out stadiums, and the fire and water was taking its toll on everyone, regardless of their status.
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Mexico introduced its first female president. A rocket took off from Florida to check whether there is life on Europa – one of Jupiter's moons. Alexei Navalny was buried in Moscow. In Paris, a metal band made Olympic history for the first time. And in Luxembourg they talked about the EU future of Ukraine and Moldova.
Among these events there are us, often in this flood of information – surprises, shock, anger or tears – looking for respite. In entertainment, art, prayer or each other's company. These and other moments have been immortalized in thousands, if not millions, of photos. We show a fragment of these stories in over 40 selected photographs.
Residents escape from a damaged apartment building in Wajima city, Ihsikawa Prefecture, after a 7.6-magnitude earthquake hit the Noto Peninsula on the Sea of Japan. The shock caused extensive damage and fires. The number of victims of the disaster reached almost 250 people, and nearly 1,300 people were injured. It was the deadliest earthquake in Japan since the Tōhoku earthquake in 2011Photo from January 5Tomohiro Ohsumi/Getty Images
The dog's skeptical attitude towards the traditional blessing during the feast commemorating St. Anthony – the patron saint of animals of all kinds. This day was also celebrated with cats and pigs at an annual ceremony in the Xochimilco district on the outskirts of Mexico City.Photo from January 17Raquel Cunha / Reuters / Forum
Fireflies dance in the forest of Pitrufquén in the Chilean Araucania regionPhoto from January 21CRISTOBAL SAAVEDRA ESCOBAR / Reuters / Forum
A performance by American cliff diver Ellie Smart. Here she competes in the qualifying round for the women's 20-meter diving competition during the World Swimming Championships in DohaPhoto from February 13EPA/ALI HAIDER
An injured boy was rushed to hospital in the backseat of a car in Port-au-Prince. A new wave of violence has unfolded in Haiti's capital. According to UN estimates, gangs control 80 percent of the city. Former influential policeman Jimmy Cherisier, the ruthless boss of the gang coalition better known as Barbecue, announced in March that he wanted to free Haiti “from the clutches of traditional political parties and corrupt oligarchs.”Photo from February 23Giles Clarke/Getty Images
A man on the threshold of a burning house in Valparaíso in the foothills of the Andes, Chile's second largest city. The fire burned an area of 2.5 hectares, destroying several buildings. Earlier in February, one of the most tragic fires in the country's history occurred in this region. The element destroyed thousands of houses, over 130 people died and 16,000 were injured. A 22-year-old firefighter was arrested on suspicion of starting the fire Photo from March 13Rodrigo Garrido / Reuters / Forum
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