Planet under pressure: Natural History Museum Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition visits Newbury

The world-touring Wildlife Photographer of the Year 57 exhibition, on loan from the Natural History Museum, opens at The Base, Greenham today (Friday, February 4), featuring exceptional images that capture fascinating animal behaviour, spectacular species and the breathtaking diversity of the natural world.

The images shine a light on the stories and species around the world and encourage a future advocating the planet.

The prestigious Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition has provided a global platform to showcase the natural world’s most astonishing and challenging sights for more than 55 years. Launching in 1965 and attracting 361 entries, today the competition receives some 50,000 entries from all over the world.

This year’s award-winning images will go on an international tour and will be seen by more than a million people.

With a record-breaking number of entries from 95 countries, the judges of the 57th Wildlife Photographer of the Year - an international panel of industry experts - have had the toughest job yet - with every entry judged anonymously on its creativity, originality and technical excellence.

Natural History Museum director Dr Doug Gurr said: "These extraordinary images showcase the rich diversity of life on Earth and spark curiosity and wonder, telling the story of a planet under pressure, the Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition illuminates the urgent challenges we face and the collective action we need to take. This year’s inspiring exhibition will move and empower audiences to advocate for the natural world."

Families are always welcome to visit the gallery but, on the Parent and Baby Day (Thursdays February 17 and March 17) there will be crayons and activity sheets available for little ones to enjoy during their visit. There is also a Relaxed Day (Thursdays February 24 and March 24), where there will be reduced numbers admitted into the gallery and extra staff will be on hand to offer support to those with additional needs.

Inspired by this exhibition, The Base held its own local competition, My Wild Life which asked aspiring photographers of all ages to capture the wonders of wildlife and the natural world. A panel of expert judges had the difficult task of shortlisting all the fantastic photographs for the general public to vote for their favourites. All the finalists’ pictures are displayed in the Runway Gallery at The Base.

Book your visit at: https://thebasegreenham.co.uk/