Portrait of Britain 2025: faces of a dynamic, yet uncertain nation
The annual photography competition captures the ever-evolving nature of the UK
Portrait of Britain, an annual competition celebrating the richness of identity and diversity in a changing nation, is back for its eighth year. Run by the British Journal of Photography and advertising firm JCDecaux UK, it is the country’s biggest event of its kind.
From thousands of entries, 2025’s shortlist of 200 images reflects a nation that feels both uncertain and dynamically alive. From them, 100 images will be chosen to be displayed on digital JCDecaux screens on high streets, and in shopping malls and transport hubs across the country.
The result will be announced in January 2026 and British Muslims feature prominently in the initial selection — both behind and in front of the camera. From a young man standing in Dartmoor National Park wearing a traditional Moroccan ghandoura to Palestinian designers in the Midlands and politician Zarah Sultana draped in a keffiyeh outside the Houses of Parliament, the shortlist is wide-ranging and imaginative. Here are some of our favourite images.
Draped in Resistance by Safa B Malik
Girlhood by Alisha Dar
Phantom by Matt McQuillan
Bide by Libby Burke Wilde
Liela by Adam Docker
Farah by Shahid Bashir
Zarah Sultana, MP for Coventry South by Anneleen Lindsay
Bollyvvitch by Edward Jones
