Impromptu Glastonbury train gig shot wins Event Photography Awards

Joyous ‘Train to Glastonbury’ shot wins Event Photography Awards 2026 while Marc James is crowned the inaugural Event Photographer of the Year.

David Parry collects the Overall Winner award

An image of Sam Ryder performing an impromptu gig on a train to Glastonbury has won the overall prize at the 2026 Event Photography Awards.

Taken by David Parry, Train to Glastonbury captured the singer performing onboard a service travelling from London Paddington to the festival ahead of his Saturday set.

The performance was part of Trainline’s ‘I came by train’ campaign, which encouraged festival-goers to travel more sustainably.

The image earned Parry the Overall Winner trophy and a £1,000 prize, having finished as runner-up in last year’s competition.

Train to Glastonbury by David Parry

The 12th annual Event Photography Awards, held at Central Hall Westminster, attracted more than 2,300 entries from photographers in more than 20 countries. More than 140 shortlisted images were displayed at the awards event.

This year also saw the introduction of a new Event Photographer of the Year title, awarded alongside the existing Best Portfolio category. The inaugural winner was first-time entrant Marc James, who also received a £1,000 prize.

James also took the Overall Runner-Up award for an image from the Behind the Scenes category. Headless Chicken shows a performer cooling off inside a back-of-house refrigeration truck, escaping both the heat and his mascot costume.

**Headless Chicken by Marc James**

**Headless Chicken by Marc James**

The two Overall Highly Commended places went to winners from the Music Events and Wedding categories.

Luke Dyson, who has previously won the overall award in 2022 and 2025, was recognised for a dramatic image captured at the Royal Albert Hall.

Albert Hall Constellations by Luke Dyson

Albert Hall Constellations by Luke Dyson

Steve Grogan, the 2024 Overall Winner, was highly commended in the Wedding category for Bounce!, a playful image which captured the energy of a wedding celebration.

Bounce! by Steve Grogan

Bounce! by Steve Grogan

The Best Amateur award went to Anthony Black, who was joint winner of the category last year. Black was recognised after entering images across several categories.

Meanwhile, the awards' People’s Choice prize, voted for by guests at the ceremony, went to Leap of Faith by Mac Praed. The image also finished runner-up in the Music Events – Audiences category.

The competition was founded in 2014 by Philip Atkins, CEO of event staffing and recruitment agency Off to Work, to highlight the role photography plays in documenting and promoting the events industry.

Atkins said the standard of entries had made this year’s competition particularly difficult to judge.

“Photography does so much to amplify, justify and sustain the events industry,” he said. “It was generally agreed amongst the judges that the competition was the toughest yet to adjudicate, as a plethora of inspiring, amusing and moving images encapsulated the importance and impact of events.”

The 2026 competition featured 18 core categories, alongside a new Black & White Award sponsored by Digital Camera magazine. Entries were judged by a panel of more than 60 event industry leaders, alongside editors from trade and photography publications.

The Overall Winner was selected from the winners of each category. Take a look at a selection of category winners below, including Trade Show & Exhibitions, Corporate Events & Conferences, and Brand Activiations & Experiential Events.

Back to M&IT