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Photos of the Week: Memorial Day, Spelling Bee, Cheese Rolling

The annual Black Cowboy Festival in South Carolina, a springtime heat wave across western Europe, ballroom dancing in England, a gothic festival in Germany, and much more

By · May 29, 2026 · 4 min read
This article was originally published by The Atlantic and is republished here under license.
Olivia Rodrigo performs on a city sidewalk with eight dancers wearing tutus, while filming a music video.
Jose Perez / Bauer-Griffin / Getty
Olivia Rodrigo is seen filming a music video in Manhattan, in New York City, on May 26, 2026.
Ballroom dancers perform inside an ornate ballroom during a competition.
Christopher Furlong / Getty
Competitors take to the floor during the Blackpool Dance Festival at the Empress Ballroom in Blackpool Winter Gardens on May 26, 2026, in Blackpool, England. The festival is celebrating 100 years of competition in what organizers say is the world’s largest and longest-running dance event.
A young competitor at a spelling bee, wearing a suit made with a print fabric featuring letters and flowers, smiles and raises their arms to celebrate correctly spelling a word.
Jose Luis Magana / AP
Louis Avetis of Orlando, Florida, jumps after spelling his word correctly during the quarterfinals of the Scripps National Spelling Bee at DAR Constitution Hall, in Washington, D.C., on May 27, 2026.
A boy wearing sunglasses looks up while standing beside adults during a Muslim prayer session.
Muhammad Reza / Anadolu / Getty
Muslims gather to perform Eid al-Adha prayers in the Eidgah Sharif neighborhood in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, on May 27, 2026.
Many Muslim pilgrims dressed in white kneel in prayer, arranged in concentric circles around a tall cube-shaped shrine.
Zain Jaafer / AFP / Getty
Muslims perform the evening prayer around the Kaaba, Islam’s holiest shrine, at Grand Mosque complex in Saudi Arabia, on May 24, 2026.
Distant reflections of sunlight are seen as a northern gannet flies over the sea.
Dan Kitwood / Getty
Reflections of sunlight are seen as a northern gannet flies over the sea at the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds’ Bempton Cliffs reserve on the East Yorkshire coast, on May 26, 2026, in Bridlington, England.
Droplets fly as an ICE agent sprays chemical irritants at protesters and media.
Adam Gray / Getty
An ICE agent sprays chemical irritants at protesters and media outside the federal immigration center at Delaney Hall, where ICE is housing detained immigrants on May 27, 2026, in Newark, New Jersey. Ongoing protests, which became tense over the holiday weekend, come amid reports of a hunger strike by detainees.
Sparks fly as a man sharpens a cleaver.
Fayaz Aziz / Reuters
A blacksmith sharpens a sacrificial cleaver ahead of Eid al-Adha celebrations in Peshawar, Pakistan, on May 26,2026.
Residents use buckets of water to try to control a fire in a poor neighborhood.
Aaron Favila / AP
Residents use buckets of water as they try to control a fire that hit a poor community in Manila, Philippines, on May 23, 2026.
People view a broad waterfall flowing past buildings and observation decks.
Ahsan Mohammed Ahmed Ahmed / Anadolu / Getty
A view of Bekhal Waterfalls in Rawanduz Canyon, situated in Rawanduz district, Erbil Governorate, in Iraq’s Kurdistan Region, seen on May 21, 2026
An aerial photograph of people being pulled on an inflatable raft by a motorboat on a lake
Remko De Waal / ANP / AFP / Getty
This aerial photograph shows people being pulled on an inflatable raft by a motorboat during a heat wave, on Gooimeer, a lake near Muiden, Netherlands, on May 25, 2026. Temperatures hit record highs for May as forecasters warned of a prolonged period of extreme heat across Europe throughout the week.
A Bengal cat poses on a log at the edge of a pond, with a curious swan swimming behind it.
Brook Mitchell / AFP / Getty
Moon, a two-year-old Bengal rescue cat, poses for a picture while being taken out for exercise by his owner, at sunrise at Pen Ponds, in London’s Richmond Park, on May 24, 2026.
A sunset view of a tall pyramid and the Great Sphinx of Giza in Egypt
Sebnem Coskun / Anadolu / Getty
A view of sunset illuminating the Pyramid of Khafre and the Great Sphinx of Giza, on the outskirts of Cairo, Egypt, on May 25, 2026
A large group of veiled Muslim women stand together beneath a mountain during a prayers.
Ulet Ifansasti / Getty
Indonesian Muslims perform Eid al-Adha prayers at Butuh village in Wonosobo, Central Java, Indonesia, on May 27, 2026.
A man dressed as a member of the French Imperial Guard stands guard at the foot of a military monument at the top of a tall mound.
Eric Lalmand / Belga / AFP / Getty
A man dressed as a member of the French Imperial Guard stands guard at the foot of the Lion’s Mound monument, in Waterloo, after its renovation, in Braine-l’Alleud, Belgium, on May 22, 2026.
Dozens of runners scoot and tumble down a steep grassy hill during a race, chasing a wheel of cheese.
Anthony Upton / AP
Participants compete in the men’s-downhill-race category of the annual Cheese Rolling contest at Cooper’s Hill, in Brockworth, Gloucestershire, England, on May 25, 2026.
A large crowd of people surround and carry an ornate statue of the Virgin Mary.
Fran Santiago / Getty
The Virgin of El Rocío is carried by devotees during a procession on May 25, 2026, in El Rocío, Spain.
Members of the New York Knicks hold up the Eastern Conference Championship trophy, celebrating after a game.
Tim Phillis / AP
Members of the New York Knicks hold the Eastern Conference Championship trophy after Game 4 in the Eastern Conference–finals NBA-basketball-playoffs series against the Cleveland Cavaliers, in Cleveland, Ohio, on May 25, 2026.
U.S. Naval Academy graduates celebrate with a cap toss during a graduation ceremony.
Heather Diehl / Getty
U.S. Naval Academy graduates celebrate with a cap toss during the 2026 Naval Academy Graduation and Commissioning Ceremony, on May 22, 2026, in Annapolis, Maryland.
A mourner kneels at the headstone of a fallen loved one in Arlington National Cemetery.
Samuel Corum / Getty
A mourner kneels at the headstone of a fallen loved one in Section 60 at Arlington National Cemetery on Memorial Day, on May 25, 2026, in Arlington, Virginia.
A pilgrim lights a candle in a dark space filled with many lit candles.
Jorge Guerrero / AFP / Getty
A pilgrim lights candles in the village of El Rocío, Spain, on May 25, 2026.
A person poses while wearing dark makeup and dark ornate clothing and accessories.
Axel Schmidt / Reuters
A participant of the Wave Gotik Treffen gothic festival poses in a park in Leipzig, Germany, on May 22, 2026.
A model poses for photographers, wearing a broad-rimmed hat with thin chains hanging from the brim, forming a veil.
Andreea Alexandru / AP
Rakele Menjivar poses for photographers upon arrival at the premiere of the film Bitter Christmas at the 79th international Cannes Film Festival, in Southern France, on May 19, 2026.
An indigenous man in Brazil poses in front of a building with a thatched roof.
Adriano Machado / Reuters
The Indigenous leader Megaron Txucarramãe poses for a picture during an interview with Reuters in the village of Pykany, in the Menkragnoti Indigenous Territory of the Kayapo people, Para state, Brazil, on May 20, 2026. Megaron is Chief Raoni’s successor and is preparing to continue his uncle’s legacy, in addition to fighting to protect Indigenous people’s rights and ensure the demarcation of his people’s land.
A humanoid robot and a human model, wearing matching garments, walk in a fashion show.
Kim Hong-Ji / Reuters
A humanoid robot and a model present creations during Galaxy Corporation’s Mach33: Physical AI Fashion Show, in Seoul, South Korea, on May 28, 2026.
An exhibitor rides a horse around barrels at a festival.
Sean Rayford / Getty
A member of the Them Cowgirls drill team rides in the arena during the 29th annual Black Cowboy Festival at Greenfield Farm, in Rembert, South Carolina, on May 23, 2026. The weekend event included agriculture and heritage exhibits, trail rides, dance classes, rodeo events, and live music.
A person in a white coat kneels down and kisses a sheep.
Finnbarr Webster / Getty
Sheep are judged at the Royal Bath & West Show, in Shepton Mallet, England, on May 28, 2026. The historic show is one of the oldest surviving agricultural shows in England—the first show took place in Taunton in 1852 and then toured the country for more than 100 years, before a permanent home was found at Shepton Mallet in 1965.
A young boy sits at the wheel of a rusty vintage tractor.
Ian Forsyth / Getty
Oliver Alderson from Harrogate sits at the wheel of a vintage tractor during the Pickering Traction Engine Rally, in Pickering, England, on May 24, 2026.
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