2024 HAS BEEN EXTRAORDINARILY UNPRECEDENTED AND HISTORIC

Introduction by Bernadette Tuazon, CNN Digital’s Director of Photography

2024 has been extraordinarily unprecedented and historic.

There were two assassination attempts of former President Donald Trump, who was running for the White House for a third time. After a disastrous debate performance and calls from members of his own party to drop out, President Joe Biden withdrew from the race in July, making way for Vice President Kamala Harris to carry the Democratic Party’s torch against Trump.

Photographers traveling with each candidate captured some of the year’s most iconic imagery, from the shooting in Butler, Pennsylvania, where Trump was shot in his right ear, to scenes across the nation of Harris, the first Black woman and Asian American to lead a major-party ticket, captivating supporters on the campaign trail. On November 5, a country yearning for change and direction voted to reelect Trump, a convicted felon who was twice impeached.

As much of the world focused its attention on the US election, photographers continued to capture scenes of people who are hurt, displaced, dead or dying as the wars in Ukraine and Gaza rage on, revealing no progress of peace or resolution.

As of November 26, the Committee to Protect Journalists reported that at least 137 journalists and media workers have been killed in Gaza, the West Bank, Israel and Lebanon since Israel’s war against Hamas began last year. Still, hundreds of photographers continue to photograph the repercussions of these wars, putting themselves in harm’s way to help the public see and understand the crippling consequences of war on innocent lives.

Not all of the news this year has been grim. For three weeks in July and August, we witnessed exhilarating performances by the world’s top athletes at the Summer Olympics. The awe-inspiring images out of Paris showcased grit, grace and incredible athleticism.

Because the events of 2024 are remarkably varied and critically significant, the CNN Photo Team decided to pull out the most visually powerful and important stories of the year and present them as individual sections. If you have followed CNN’s Year in Pictures report over the years, you’ll find this to be a slight departure from our past presentations.

Although the structure has changed, there is one thing that we have held true: We have been extremely committed to showing you the most compelling images of the last 365 days to inform, educate and even inspire. We also endeavored to find photos to light up your day.

This is CNN Digital’s “2024: The Year in Pictures.”

Editor’s note: Some of these images are graphic. Viewer discretion is advised.

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