Sakarya: The fifth edition of the Istanbul Photo Awards 2025, organized by Anadolu, has opened in Sakarya, a province in northwestern Turkey. This exhibition features award-winning photographs selected from nearly 22,000 submissions by an international jury.

According to Anadolu Agency, the exhibition, which highlights winning images in 10 categories from the international news photography contest, is currently on display at the Ofis Art Center. It is part of the Sakarya Metropolitan Municipality's December cultural and arts program and will be accessible to visitors until January 11, 2026.

During the opening ceremony, Hasan Ay, Anadolu's Trkiye News Director, emphasized the agency's extensive work in photography and its organization of competitions that are highly regarded by the global press photography community. Ay remarked, 'We do not merely press the shutter; we record history,' highlighting the role of photography in revealing realities that remain unseen by some parts of the world.

Ay also noted that this year, Anadolu distributed over 1 million photographs worldwide, demonstrating photography's power, especially during events such as Israel's genocide in Palestine. Photographers from 114 countries submitted nearly 22,000 photographs for this year's contest.

The exhibition in Sakarya follows previous displays in cities like Ankara, Istanbul, New York, and Madrid. The 2025 competition is supported by Turkcell as the communications sponsor, the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA) as the overseas events sponsor, and Turkish Airlines as a partial transportation sponsor.

Applications for the 2026 Istanbul Photo Awards are currently open, with the competition offering a total of $58,000 in prizes across 10 categories, including news, sports, nature, portrait, and daily life. Interested participants can submit their applications until January 9, 2026.