Gouden Hoed 2026: The World’s Greatest Cartoon Winners Announced

The Gouden Hoed 2026 (Golden Hat), one of the most prestigious international cartoon competitions, has once again confirmed its reputation as a global powerhouse for visual satire. For this edition, a staggering 2,160 cartoons were submitted by 545 cartoonists from 69 countries. A professional jury meticulously selected the strongest entries based on graphic quality, originality, and social relevance.

The International Winners: A Global Perspective

The top honors of the international competition showcased a diverse range of styles and themes:

• The Golden Hat: Camila de la Fuente (Mexico) – Her minimalist grey pencil drawing captures the subtle birth of gender inequality. By depicting a boy unknowingly standing on a girl’s kite string, she exposes a confronting reality with simple but powerful means.
• The Silver Hat: Raúl Zuleta (Colombia) – Zuleta brings the biblical scene of Mary and Joseph into a modern, bleak apartment tower, raising urgent questions about refugees and the global search for shelter.
• The Bronze Hat: Oğuz Demir (Turkey) – A major success for Turkish art! Demir’s graphic four-panel work shows a sleeping cat transforming into a roaring tiger under the moon. It’s a poetic exploration of inner strength and revolution.
• The 2025 Audience Award: Engin Selçuk (Turkey) – Winning the hearts of the public with nostalgia, Selçuk’s “exhausted Darth Vader” perfectly captures the vulnerability of aging and heroism.

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Press Cartoon Belgium: The Voice of the Media

Parallel to the international awards, Press Cartoon Belgium (PCB) honored the best cartoons from the Belgian press. A jury of journalists selected winners who used their pens to defend democracy and human rights.

• Grand Prize Knokke-Heist: Kamagurka – His cartoon “No news, good news” addresses the Gaza conflict and the immense pressure on journalists. It is a sharp indictment of violence and a powerful plea for press freedom.
• Second Prize: Karl – Karl’s work focuses on European “soft power,” symbolizing it as a lipstick to contrast diplomatic efforts with the hard military power of other global forces.
• Third Prize: Kroll – Kroll was honored for his piercing depiction of Afghan women in 2025, highlighting how they are being silenced and forgotten by global media.

Exhibition: Meet the Selected Cartoonists

Are you curious about the full spectrum of talent at this year’s festival? The Gouden Hoed 2026 exhibition features a diverse array of global voices. Below is the list of selected cartoonists representing their countries in the main exhibition:

• Turkey: Oğuz Demir (Bronze Hat), Engin Selçuk (Audience Award)
• Mexico: Camila de la Fuente (Golden Hat)
• Colombia: Raúl Zuleta (Silver Hat)
• Belgium: Dieter Bevers, Lectrr, Prudence Geerts, MAT, Erwin Van Mol, Steve Michiels, Kim Duchateau, Karl Meersman, Lise Vanlerberghe, Brecht Vandenbroucke
• Ukraine: Valerii Momot
• Italy: Agim Sulaj
• Serbia: Borislav Stankovic
• China: Liu Qiang
• Russia: Nikolai Vorontsov
• Cuba: Osvaldo Gutiérrez Gomez
• Netherlands: Jip Van den Toorn, Fien Cools

Visit the Exhibition: You can see these works in person at CC Scharpoord, Knokke-Heist, from March 21 to May 3, 2026. Admission is free!

Official Website: https://cultuur.knokke-heist.be/cartoonfestival-knokke-heist