Hamburg, April 30, 2003
A mourning boy standing at the grave of his father who died in an earthquake in Iran in June 2002: the picture vividly expresses helplessness, grief, and tangible misery. This black-and-white photograph, which was taken by the Armenian photographer Eric Grigorian and selected from 53,597 other entries by an international judging panel, is the 2002 World Press Photo of the Year. The photographic sequence "Megacities of Asia" by Peter Bialobrzeski also received commendation: first prize in the "The Arts Stories" category. Pictures from this series were published in the GEO report on "The Turbo-Cities". The winning pictures, as well as 53 other prize-winning photographs in nine different categories, can be viewed at the G+J press building at Baumwall in Hamburg from May 1-25 as part of the German World Press Photo exhibition - presented by GEO and Gruner + Jahr.

GEO‘s chief editor Peter-Matthias Gaede on the importance of the World Press Photo Award: "This prize is undoubtedly the most relevant award for photo journalists worldwide. But it is more than that - year after year, the display of the prize-winning pictures is an intense moment of reflection on events which we might already have forgotten or wanted to banish from our memories. A photograph becomes our means of visualizing an event - the picture we keep in our minds."

Not only does the World Press Photo Award document world events of the past year, but it also conveys a glimpse of current trends within press photography. In addition to touching and unsettling pictures from conflict-stricken regions around the world, the exhibition also shows other sides of reportage photography, such as fascinating nature photography, insights into foreign worlds, and photographic highlights from the fields of art, culture, sports, environment and science.

Exhibition dates: May 1-25, 2003
G+J press building
Am Baumwall 11
D-20459 Hamburg

Opening hours:
Monday - Sunday 10am - 6pm
Wednesday 10am-8pm
Admission is free.

Press photo downloads are available at www.guj.de/presse.

The exhibition is supported worldwide by Canon, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines and TPG global mail, express and logistics.

For further information:

Victoria Schacht
GEO
press + public relations
Telefon: +49-40-3703-2157
Telefax: +49-40-3703-5683
E-Mail: Schacht.Victoria@geo.de

Ulrike Klug
Gruner + Jahr AG & Co KG
public relations + company contacts
Telefon: +49-40-3703-3882
Telefax: +49-40-3703-5688
E-Mail: Klug.Ulrike@guj.de