On behalf of the 2012 Picture of the Year committee, I'm proud to announce the seventh Picture of the Year. About 4,000 Wikimedia editors helped select this marvelous image, shattering previous turnout records.

You can view the top 12 results right now on Wikimedia Commons at http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Commons:Picture_of_the_Year/2012/Results. Stay tuned for a blog post on the Wikimedia blog and an upcoming 2014 calendar from the top 12 images.

The contest is a fun and enjoyable event that not only celebrates our excellent photographers and illustrators, but everyone who contributes to Wikimedia. You are encouraged to donate your own work to the Wikimedia Commons as our library of freely licensed media files grows past 16 million files.

Thank you for your participation!

User:Mono POTY 2012 Committee