When the world smiled: Defining images of joy in 2025
From quiet prayers to spontaneous dances, 2025 offered countless moments of joy
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2 MIN READ
1/20
A woman reacts during a sack race as she celebrates Eid Al Fitr at a park in Quezon City, Philippines, on March 31.
AP
2/20
Schoolgirls and cadets dance as they attend a rehearsal of a ceremony on the first day at school at a cadet lyceum in Kyiv on September 1.
AP
3/20
Visitors, wearing stuffed costumes, fight in the ‘sumo arena’ at the HaHaHouse
museum of laughter in central Zagreb on January 21.
AFP
4/20
Henry Rice, a 98-year-old Normandy veteran, gets a kiss from Katie Ashby, the founder and lead vocalist of D-Day Darlings, during the 80-day countdown to V-E Day 80 in London on February 17.
AP
5/20
A child catches snowflakes with their tongue during El Museo del Barrio's 47th annual Three Kings Day parade, Jan. 6, 2025, in New York.
AP
6/20
People dance during a headphones party inside an underground parking lot used as a shelter against potential missile strikes from Iran, in Tel Aviv, Israel, June 23, 2025.
AP
7/20
A couple wearing wedding attire dance during a photo session at the Galata Bridge in Istanbul, Turkey, June 13, 2025.
AP
8/20
A nun kisses the hand of Pope Leo XIV during his weekly general audience, at The Vatican, Aug.20, 2025.
AP
9/20
Kids play surrounded by rubble on an area of houses that were completely destroyed during the civil war at the Al-Asali neighbourhood in Damascus, Syria, Jan. 6, 2025.
AP
10/20
Girls are smeared with coloured powder during Holi celebrations, the Hindu spring festival of colours, in Kolkata on March 14, 2025.
AFP
11/20
Graduates of the U.S. Naval Academy toss their caps during the academy's graduation and commissioning ceremony, at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., May 23, 2025.
AP
12/20
Paris Saint-Germain's players light smoke flares as they parade on a bus on the Champs-Élysées avenue in Paris on June 1, 2025, a day after PSG won the 2025 UEFA Champions League final football match against Inter Milan in Munich.
AFP
13/20
Children play rugby during a training camp with France's Stade Toulousain academy in Abidjan on February 26, 2025.
AFP
14/20
A Vietnamese couple practices Ballroom dancing as part of their morning exercise along Hoan Kiem Lake in Hanoi, Vietnam, May 2, 2025.
AFP
15/20
US comedian writer Stephen Colbert accepts the Outstanding Talk Series award for "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert" from US actor Bryan Cranston (R) during the 77th Primetime Emmy Awards at the Peacock Theatre at LA Live in Los Angeles on September 14, 2025.
AFP
16/20
A Kathakali classical dancer watches artists rehearse the traditional folk dance Pulikkali (Tiger Dance) as they wait backstage before their performance at a cultural festival in Chennai on July 12, 2025.
AFP
17/20
Lea Werner riding Viola, celebrates after winning the Cow Race Grand Prix, a two-round race exclusively for female jockeys and the only event of its kind in Switzerland, held in the Alpine resort of Flumserberg on October 19, 2025.
AFP
18/20
A woman recites prayers as people mark Prophet Muhammad's birthday, known as Mawlid, in Dakar, Senegal, Sept. 5, 2025
AP
19/20
A corgi arrives for the costume contest as part of the Corgi Race Vilnius 2025 gathering in Vingis Park, Vilnius on August 23, 2025.. For the fourth time, Vilnius hosts the two-day Corgi Race and costume contest inviting corgis from across Europe.
AFP
20/20
Players of Rubas (in blue) and Jenesano (in green) fight for the ball in a football tournament during the Botas, Ruana and Sombrero cultural and sport festival in Jenesano, Boyaca department, Colombia on August 18, 2025..
AFP
Devadasan K PChief Visual Editor
Devadasan K P is the Chief Visual Editor at Gulf News, bringing more than 26 years of experience in photojournalism to the role. He leads the Visual desk with precision, speed, and a strong editorial instinct.
Whether he’s selecting images of royalty, chasing the biggest celebrity moments in Dubai, or covering live events himself, Devadasan is always a few steps ahead of the action.
Over the years, he has covered a wide range of major assignments — including the 2004 tsunami in Sri Lanka, the 2005 Kashmir earthquake, feature reportage from Afghanistan, the IMF World Bank meetings, and wildlife series from Kenya.
His work has been widely recognised with industry accolades, including the Minolta Photojournalist of the Year award in 2005, the Best Picture Award at the Dubai Shopping Festival in 2008, and a Silver Award from the Society for News Design in 2011.
He handles the newsroom pressure with a calm attitude, a quick response time, and his signature brand of good-natured Malayali humour. There's no fuss — just someone who gets the job done very well, every single time.
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