We present deep UBVI_c_ photometric data of the young open cluster Westerlund 2. An abnormal reddening law of R_V,cl_=4.14+/-0.08 was found for the highly reddened early-type members (E(B-V)>=1.45), whereas a fairly normal reddening law of R_V,fg_=3.33+/-0.03 was confirmed for the foreground early-type stars (E(B-V)_fg_<1.05). The distance modulus was determined from zero-age main-sequence fitting to the reddening-corrected colour-magnitude diagram of the early-type members to be V_0_-M_V_=13.9+/-0.14 (random error) _-0.1_^+0.4^ (the upper limit of systematic error) mag (d=6.0+/-0.4_-0.3_^+1.2^kpc). To obtain te initial mass function, pre-main-sequence (PMS) stars were selected by identifying the optical counterparts of Chandra X-ray sources and mid-infrared emission stars from the Spitzer GLIMPSE (Galactic Legacy Infrared Mid-Plane Survey Extraordinaire) source catalogue. The initial mass function shows a shallow slope of {Gamma}=-1.1+/-0.1 down to log(m)=0.7. The total mass of Westerlund 2 is estimated to be at least 7400M_{sun}_. The age of Westerlund 2 from the main-sequence turn-on and PMS stars is estimated to be <~1.5Myr. We confirmed the existence of a clump of PMS stars located ~1-arcmin north of the core of Westerlund 2, but we could not find any clear evidence for an age difference between the core and the northern clump.