Shortcut: COM:POTY/2009

Fourth Annual Wikimedia Commons Picture of the Year

(Preparation· (Translations· (Discussion· Organising committee · (Issues / Help)

Introduction & dates · Voting · Round 1: Galleries · Round 2: Finalists · Results · Download

About POTY2009

What is Picture of the Year?

The fourth annual Picture of the Year competition is an event where the images that became Featured Pictures during the year are voted on by members from all Wikimedia projects, to produce a single Picture of the Year.


Who can vote?

You are eligible to vote if...

  1. ...you registered before 2010-01-01
  2. ...and have more than 200 edits before 2010-01-16 (that is 2010-01-15 UTC 24:00/2010-01-16 UTC 00:00) in any single Wikimedia project.

You can check if you meet the requirements here.

Where can I vote?

Look through galleries for the current round of voting (please take the time to look at all the pictures in any category you choose to vote in!), click the "Vote" button below any image you wish to support, and vote for that image by using the template Template:2009POTY/Vote, signed with 4 tildes:

#{{2009POTY/Vote|Your_username}}--~~~~
Round one (Categories)
from 2010-05-14T00:00(UTC) till 2010-05-21T23:59(UTC) (round one voting is now closed, thank-you to all those who participated!)
Round one galleries
  • Voting in Round 1 will determine winning images for each Category in the competition, as well as creating the list of finalists for Round 2.
  • You may vote for as many images as you like in Round 1, but can only cast one vote for each image.
  • The Round 1 Category winners, and the top 10 overall will advance to Round 2 (the Finals).

Round 2 (Finals)
from 4 June 2010, 00:00 (UTC) till 11 June 2010, 23:59 (UTC)
Finalists gallery (Large sized)
  • Round 2 voting will determine the overall winner for Wikimedia Commons Picture of the Year.
  • Voting in Round 2 will be limited to the finalist images advancing from Round 1.
  • Any eligible user can vote in Round 2, even if they didn't vote in Round 1.
  • Single vote per eligible user.
  • The Round 2 image receiving the most (confirmed) votes will win Picture of the Year. Special recognition (including badging) will also be given to the second and third place finalists.

I have more questions!

If you have any problems, please contact the /Committee or post a question on the discussion page.

The contest is being run by a first-time team this year. We hope that you will help us if we make any mistakes.

Commons Picture of the Year 2009: Results


The Wikimedia Commons Picture of the Year 2009 competition is now over and the winner has been selected. In total, 742 Wikimedians voted, of which 62 voted for the winner, Sikh pilgrim at the Golden Temple (Harmandir Sahib) in India. With 56 votes Elakala Waterfalls in the Blackwater Falls State Park, USA takes second place. Third place goes to the Russian honor guard at Tomb of the Unknown Soldier with 52 votes.

Commons Picture of the Year 2009


Commons Picture of the Year 2009

 : # 1 – 62 votes in Final;
Sikh pilgrim at the Harmandir Sahib (Golden Temple) in Amritsar, India. (POTD)
Credit: Wikimedian Paulrudd .





# 2 – 56 votes in Final;
Elakala Waterfalls in the Blackwater Falls State park, West Virginia, United States. (POTD)
Credit: Forest Wander from Cross Lanes, USA .





# 3 – 52 votes in Final;
The Russian military honor guard welcomes U.S. Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, during a wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Moscow, Russia, June 26, 2009. Mullen is on a three-day trip to the country, meeting with counterparts and touring the Russian military academy. (POTD)
Credit: MC1 Chad J. McNeeley .





# 4 – 37 votes in Final;
A European Honey Bee (Apis mellifera) flying back to its hive carrying pollen in a pollen basket. (POTD)
Credit: Wikimedian Muhammad Mahdi Karim .





# 5 – 35 votes in Final;
Wild horses in Erlebnispark Tripsdrill, near Cleebronn, Germany. (POTD)
Credit: Wikimedian Brackenheim, Robin Müller .





# 6 – 34 votes in Final;
The Milky Way arches across this 360-degree panorama of the night sky above the Paranal platform, home of ESO’s Very Large Telescope. (POTD)
Credit: ESO/H.H. Heyer .





# 7 – 32 votes in Final;
Bois du Cazier, a ruin of a colliery in Marcinelle, Charleroi, Belgium. (POTD)
Credit: Wikimedian Lviatour Luc Viatour .





# 8 – 29 votes in Final;
A shell casing flies out with a trail of smoke as U.S. Army Pfc. Michael Freise fires an M-4 rifle (POTD)
Credit: DoD photo by Staff Sgt. Suzanne M. Day, U.S. Air Force. .





# 8 – 29 votes in Final;
Tavurvur, an active stratovolcano near Rabaul in Papua New Guinea (POTD)
Credit: Taro Taylor
edit by Richard Bartz .





# 9 – 25 votes in Final;
A Barn Owl (Tyto alba) in flight. (POTD)
Credit: Wikimedian Lviatour, Luc Viatour .





# 9 – 25 votes in Final;
Housefly, Austin's Ferry, Tasmania, Australia (POTD)
Credit: Wikimedian Noodle snacks .





# 10 – 23 votes in Final;
Eilean Donan Castle is a rebuilt castle at Dornie in the Scottish Highlands. It is located on Eilean Donan, an island near the point where the sea lochs Loch Duich, Loch Alsh and Loch Long meet. This view from north was made at high tide. (POTD)
Credit: Wikimedian Eusebius (Guillaume Piolle) .





# 10 – 23 votes in Final;
Green Iguana (Iguana iguana) posing in the Oslo Reptile Park. (POTD)
Credit: Wikimedian Uspn, Bjørn Christian Tørrissen .




See all result in Final



Category tops



Category - People and human activities

People #1 – 68 votes in Round 1;
Sikh pilgrim at the Harmandir Sahib (Golden Temple) in Amritsar, India. (POTD)
Credit: Wikimedian Paulrudd .




See result in this category in Round 1



Category - Panoramas

Panoramas #1 – 61 votes in Round 1;
The Milky Way arches across this 360-degree panorama of the night sky above the Paranal platform, home of ESO’s Very Large Telescope. (POTD)
Credit: ESO/H.H. Heyer .




See result in this category in Round 1



Category - Diagrams, emblems and maps

Diagrams #1 – 59 votes in Round 1;
Partial view of the Mandelbrot set. (POTD)
Credit: Wikimedian Wolfgangbeyer .




See result in this category in Round 1



Category - Nature views

Nature views #1 – 58 votes in Round 1;
Tavurvur, an active stratovolcano near Rabaul in Papua New Guinea (POTD)
Credit: Taro Taylor
edit by Richard Bartz .




See result in this category in Round 1



Category - Non-photographic art, posters, stamps and historic maps

Artworks #1 – 52 votes in Round 1;
The Great Wave off Kanagawa (POTD)
Credit: created by Katsushika Hokusai,
restored and uploaded by Wikimedian Durova .




See result in this category in Round 1



Category - Other animals

Other animals #1 – 51 votes in Round 1;
Wild horses in Erlebnispark Tripsdrill, near Cleebronn, Germany. (POTD)
Credit: Wikimedian Brackenheim, Robin Müller .




See result of this category in Round 1



Category - Plants and fungis

Plants and fungis #1 – 49 votes in Round 1;
The "indigo Lactarius", species Lactarius indigo (Schwein.) Fr. Specimen photographed in Strouds Run State Park, Athens, Ohio, USA. (POTD)
Credit: Mushroom Observer Dan Molter
edit by Tony Wills .




See result in this category in Round 1



Category - Birds

Birds #1 – 48 votes in Round 1;
A Barn Owl (Tyto alba) in flight. (POTD)
Credit: Wikimedian Lviatour, Luc Viatour .




See result in this category in Round 1



Category - Constructions, architecture, cities, ruins and related

Constructions #1 – 47 votes in Round 1;
A exposure blended photo of the Sydney Opera House, as viewed from the Sydney Harbour Bridge. (POTD)
Credit: Wikimedian User:Diliff, David Iliff .




See result in this category in Round 1



Category - Objects, outer space and miscellaneous

Objects #1 – 46 votes in Round 1;
Bois du Cazier, a ruin of a colliery in Marcinelle, Charleroi, Belgium. (POTD)
Credit: Wikimedian Lviatour Luc Viatour .




See result in this category in Round 1



Category - Arthropods

Arthropods #1 – 35 votes in Round 1;
Housefly, Austin's Ferry, Tasmania, Australia (POTD)
Credit: Wikimedian Noodle snacks .




See result in this category in Round 1