From churches to bridges, canal locks to market halls, every red dot on our interactive map is a piece of Ireland’s built heritage that needs a photograph, which means we need your help. So why not get a head start on the competition in September and get out there now.
Entry into the 2018 competition will open August 25 and will run until September 30 at midnight.
Taking in the world’s largest photography competition is easy
- Find your nearest eligible national monuments from the map. Red dots are monuments with no photograph yet.
- Have a read of the rules and tips.
- Go out and take your best shots.
- Upload your images to Wikimedia Commons through the interactive map.
You’ll be asked to register an account with Wikimedia Commons, if you haven’t already. Then follow the steps in the uploader.
Wiki Loves Monuments is an annual international photographic event which takes place every September around the world. The competition aims to bring together people who value their local historic environment, calling on amateur and professional photographers alike to capture images of the world’s historic monuments. Visit the interactive map to see all 6000+ eligible monuments here.
The photos are then shared under free licences via Wikimedia Commons, a free media repository which along with other things provides most of the images for Wikipedia.
Entries can be images taken specially for the competition, or photographs you have taken in the past.
Winners will be notified by email and announced on this website, on Facebook, Twitter and the Wikimedia Community Ireland mailing list.
Prizes
- 1st place: €350
- 2nd place: €200
- 3rd place: €100
- 4th-10th place (highly commended) €25
Contest Timeline
- 25 August: The contest officially opens, and uploading of photos begins. Details of the official launch event will be announced in July.
- 30 September: Contest closes, uploading of photos ends.
- November: Winners will be announced.
Got a question? Please have a read of the FAQs, and if your question isn’t already answered, please add it there as a comment or alternatively, email [email protected]
What makes Wiki Loves Monuments special
- The competition is led and driven by a global network of volunteers
- The competition is open to everyone, and participation is free
- Since the global competition began in 2011, there have been more than 1 million entries
- Ireland took part for the first time in 2014, which saw over 30 countries participating across five continents
- Participants will see their photos used in Wikipedia articles with a potential audience in the hundreds of millions
- All entrants help to provide a range of locally-sourced images that are available for use on Wikipedia and elsewhere.
Aside from being great fun, Wiki Loves Monuments is a way of capturing a snapshot of Ireland’s cultural heritage for future generations. Over time, the collections gathered throughout the competition will become an incredibly useful historical resource.
