More than seventy galleries from around the world will be participating in the Photo London show as it opens to the public at Somerset House on Thursday 21 May.

The official opening will be conducted by Mayor of London Boris Johnson.

‘At a time when so many of us are using our smartphones to capture images of the people and sights around us, we shouldn’t forget photography’s significance as an important and longstanding art form,’ Johnson said.

The show will present a mixture of rare and historic prints from the likes of Henri Cartier-Bresson and Diane Arbus, as well as work from young upcoming talent from London and beyond.

Photo London has commissioned five exhibitions at Somerset House including ‘Beneath the Surface’, which is a collection of 200 rarely-shown works from the Victoria and Albert museum.

The show will also include talks and lectures from variousluminaries in the photograpic community, including legendary documentary photographer Steve McCurry.

There will also be large-scale prints from Sebastião Salgado’s ‘Genesis’ series. Salgado will also be receiving the inaugural Photo London Master of Photography Award.

Scroll through above some of the images that will be on display and on sale throughout the show, from various galleries and photographers around London, the UK and beyond (click to see full screen).