HAPPY MOMENTS OF 2025
Participants wearing smurf (schtroumpf) costumes share a beer in a bar on the sidelines of an attempt to break the world record for the largest gathering of Smurfs, in Landerneau, western France, on May 17, 2025.. Landerneau on May 17 attempts to break the world record for the largest Smurfs gathering, a record held by Lauchringen in Germany, after two failed attempts over five years. (Photo by Fred TANNEAU / AFP) / NO USE AFTER JANUARY 31, 2026 23:00:00 GMT - NO USE AFTER JANUARY 31, 2026 23:00:00 GMT - HAPPY MOMENTS OF 2025
2025 has been a year filled with many highs and lows, a relentless news cycle showing the best of human nature and the worst. But between the defining moments of the year, there were many quiet joyful moments in-between.
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. (Photo by Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP)Young ballet students (4-6 years) at Mballet Dance Academy dance outside the studio before starting their lesson in Tembisa on July 26, 2025. Mballet Dance Academy is a small, deeply rooted dance academy in Winnie Mandela’s section of Tembisa township. Created not just to teach ballet but to open doors in a community where resources are few and dreams often feel out of reach. (Photo by Phill Magakoe / AFP)Attendees share a laugh with 102-year-old WWII and D-Day Landing US veteran Jake Larson, also known as “Papa Jake”, before a memorial ceremony held as part of the 81st anniversary of the World War II D-Day Allied landings in Normandy, at the American Cemetery in Colleville-sur-Mer, north-western France, on June 6, 2025. (Photo by Lou BENOIST / AFP)Girls are smeared with coloured powder during Holi celebrations, the Hindu spring festival of colours, in Kolkata on March 14, 2025. (Photo by DIBYANGSHU SARKAR / AFP)Kaapse Klopse minstrels dance as their troupe moves forward during the annual Kaapse Klopse parade, also known as “Tweede Nuwe Jaar” (second New Year), in Cape Town on January 4, 2025. Thousands of colourfully costumed minstrels paraded through Cape Town Saturday in an exuberant century-old carnival rooted in the South African city’s history of slavery that drew large crowds of spectators. In glitzy uniforms matched with flashy hats, parasols and face paint, the marchers walked and danced through the city’s historic centre in an annual event that an organiser said had grown to become the biggest such parade on the continent. (Photo by GIANLUIGI GUERCIA / AFP)A rider laughs as she lines up for the start of the 5th edition of the Normandy Beach Race event, in Ouistreham Riva-Bella, on September 20, 2025. Normandy Beach Race is a 200-meter demonstration race from a standing start featuring classic American and European cars and motorcycles built before 1947. (Photo by LOU BENOIST / AFP)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. (Photo by Petras Malukas / AFP)A Kathakali classical dancer (2L) 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. (Photo by R. Satish BABU / AFP)Competitors take part in the Bog Commander endurance event near Ashbourne, in the Peak District moorlands, in northern England, on May 17, 2025. Featuring over 30 man made obstacles, the Bog Commander is a 6km muddy obstacle race through the Peak District’s Manifold Valley that started in 2014. (Photo by Oli SCARFF / AFP)This picture taken on October 29, 2025 shows Shan ethnic artists performing a traditional dance on the opening day of the week-long Tazaungdaing Lighting Festival in Taunggyi, Myanmar’s northeastern Shan State. (Photo by Sai Aung MAIN / AFP)
