European Press Prize Award Ceremony 2025 – Bari, Italy

We are very excited to announce that the 2025 European Press Prize Award Ceremony will take place in Bari, Italy, on 28 May at 19:00 CEST.

Every year, the Award Ceremony brings together finalists of the Prize, as well as other key stakeholders and members of the local journalistic community to celebrate excellence in European journalism. The event will be co-organised in collaboration with Cime – event and exhibition organiser in the heart of Bari.

Registration is open for the event now. You can apply to attend the Award Ceremony here. Due to limited space, we ask that you only register if you plan to attend in person in Bari.

Schedule

We, as the European Press Prize, wish to create a space where journalists from across the continent can gather; a space where values meet, ideas are shared, and discussion sparks. By connecting journalists from all corners of Europe, we strive to ensure an inspiring platform where the democratic values of journalism are represented, protected, and celebrated.

To help make that a reality, for those in Bari, there will be a range of sessions on 28 May before the Award Ceremony kicks off at 19:00.

• 11:00 – 12:30: Guided Tour of Bari – Meeting location and time TBC
• 14:00 – 15:15: “The Power of Impact: Stories That Make a Difference.”
  During this panel, we will spotlight what happens after a story gets published and showcase the impact important projects can have.
• 15:30 – 16:30: “To Work in Media, Do We Have to Leave? Perspectives from the South of Italy.”
  This session will explore a sentiment that is well-known amongst (young) journalists in Southern Italy: feeling the necessity to leave their home region or country to make a living out of journalism.
• 16:45 – 17:45: “Journalism and Information in Italy: Challenges and Opportunities.”
  In collaboration with the National Association of Italian Journalist, this panel will explore the current challenges and opportunities of journalism and information in Italy; painting a picture of the state of Italian journalism today.
• 19:00 – 23:00: European Press Prize Award Ceremony

Keynote and Moderator

To kick off the Ceremony, Alan Rusbridger, journalist, editor of Prospect magazine, and former editor-in-chief of the Guardian, will deliver a keynote speech. Alan has served as Chair of the Panel of Judges at the European Press Prize since 2020.

As always, our work at the European Press Prize revolves around our ever-growing community. This year, our Award Ceremony will be moderated by Sara Manisera, journalist and co-founder of the FADA Collective. Sara won our 2024 Investigative Reporting Award for the project “Iraq Without Water: The Cost of Oil to Italy“.

Our first Award Ceremony in Italy

This year’s Award Ceremony marks the Prize’s first time hosting its flagship event in Italy. Vito Cramarossa, Director of Cime said:

“We are deeply proud to announce that, thanks to the collaboration between Cime and the European Press Prize, the prestigious Award Ceremony will, for the first time, take place in Italy, in the city of Bari, in May 2025. This remarkable achievement results from an extraordinary synergy between Cime, the European Press Prize, and local institutions, united by a shared commitment to promoting and fostering fundamental values such as freedom of the press, freedom of expression, and the dissemination of knowledge.”

Each year, the European Press Prize Award Ceremony moves to a different European city. As well as reflecting our mission to support quality journalism across the continent, this also ensures that journalists from all over Europe have the opportunity to meet in different cultural and socioeconomic contexts, facilitating exchange between international journalists and the local media community.

“For Cime, the collaboration with the European Press Prize is not just a source of pride but also a significant step forward in our ongoing commitment to spreading the principles we believe are essential for contemporary society. We sincerely thank the local institutions for warmly embracing our proposal and contributing to creating a shared project that elevates quality journalism and celebrates the values that guide our future. ​This shared purpose and vision have made possible an event of such great significance for Bari, for Italy, and for the European community as a whole,” said Cramarossa.

Thanks to our close partnership with Cime, we are delighted to bring the Ceremony to Italy for the first time in the Prize’s 12 year history. Home to a rich tradition of rigorous investigative journalism – and many European Press Prize Laureates – Italy is the perfect location for the Prize’s 2025 flagship event. This is especially true as independent journalism comes under increasing strain in Italy, as is the case throughout much of Europe. Jennifer Athanasiou-Prins, Executive Director at the European Press Prize said:

“Collaborating with Cime for our 2025 Award Ceremony in Bari was a natural choice, especially given our commitment to fostering meaningful connections between our European network of journalists and the local journalistic community in each city we visit. With their extensive experience in the local and national journalistic landscape and their shared dedication to promoting independent journalism and facilitating exchange across international and local communities, Cime aligns perfectly with the values of the European Press Prize. As the primary Italian partner of the World Press Photo Foundation, their expertise and reputation make them an invaluable collaborator for this special event.”

Shortlist 2025

During the Award Ceremony, we will announce the Winners and Runners-Up for each of our five categories. The full Shortlist for this year can be found here.