Bayeux Calvados-Normandy Award for War Correspondents

The most important European award dedicated to war journalism

Created in 1994 on the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary of the Normandy landings, the Bayeux Calvados-Normandy Award for War Correspondents has become the most important European event dedicated to war journalism. Every year in October, the city of Bayeux hosts journalists, photographers, and reporters from around the world for a busy week of meetings, exhibitions, screenings, and debates on conflicts and human rights.

Seven trophies and special prizes

The award recognizes the best war reports in five categories: print, radio, television, photography, and web journalism. Seven trophies worth 7,000 euros each are awarded, in addition to three special prizes, including the Normandy Region Award for high school students, university students, and apprentices (3,000 euros). Around fifty reports compete each year, submitted to an international jury of media professionals.

Exhibitions and public meetings

Throughout the week, large-scale photographic exhibitions are set up in the streets, halls, and heritage sites of Bayeux. Screenings of competing reports are organized in the city's cinemas and halls. Public meetings with war correspondents allow the public to interact directly with those who bear witness to conflicts on the ground.

A memorial for fallen journalists

Each edition includes a moving ceremony for the unveiling of the memorial stele, engraved with the names of journalists and media collaborators killed in the line of duty during the past year. This memorial, located in Bayeux, is a unique place of remembrance in Europe.