An exhibition will be the first in the UK to display the 2024 finalists of an international photography award. The Gallery at The Arc in will showcase the Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards from September 27 to January 8, 2025. The awards, sponsored by Nikon, have celebrated the humour of the natural world since 2015 while raising awareness of sustainability and conservation.
The 2024 competition attracted more than 3,500 entries from nine categories, including mammals, birds, fish, and insects, as well as age categories for under 16s and 25s. The shortlisted entries were judged by a panel of experts, including competition founder Paul Joynson-Hicks, wildlife presenter Kate Humble, and comedian Hugh Dennis. The winners will be announced on December 10 in London.
The exhibition at The Arc will not only feature the 2024 finalists but also winning photographs from previous years. These have been specially selected by Winchester Go LD, a charity supporting adults with learning disabilities. Tom Sullam, chair of the judging panel and competition director, said: "The Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards undoubtedly portray animals in all their glorious, entertaining beauty - who couldn’t laugh out loud at an eagle looking through its back legs or a warthog’s bottom.
"But underlying this is a more serious message. "We see the humour in the photographs as a way to engage people with the threats that these same animals face, and to understand animals and the issues that affect them,.