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In pictures: North Korea's mass games propaganda show

Reuters Performers holding up coloured boards creating a huge portrait of Kim Il-sungReuters

North Korea on Sunday kicked off a huge propaganda festival, featuring enormous co-ordinated displays unlike anything else in the world.

The spectacle is called the Arirang Mass Games and will run throughout September to mark the country's 70th anniversary.

It features tens of thousands of performers.

The event is striking but the United Nations has in the past said children are forced to take part, or to help in the build-up.

EPA Dancers waving North Korean flagsEPA
The games are a huge propaganda event
EPA Performers holding up coloured boards creating a big image of two young girlsEPA
They are famous for the huge picture displays created by participants holding up coloured boards
Reuters Aerial shot of the stadiumReuters
The games are designed to celebrate the country and boost morale
EPA Dancers at the Arirang mass gamesEPA
The show is popular with foreign tourists and a source of revenue for Pyongyang
EPA Performers holding up coloured boards creating a big image of a man on horsebackEPA
The country's Air Koryo carrier has scheduled additional flights from Beijing for the event
Reuters Stadium filled with performersReuters
The last games were held in 2013
Reuters Athletes doing a gymnastics performanceReuters
The event includes tens of thousands of participants, many of them children
Reuters Children doing a gymnastics performanceReuters
The UN has said children are forced to take part, or to help in the build-up
AFP Performers holding up coloured boards creating a big image of a child with footballAFP
Tickets to each event reportedly cost up to €800 ($933; £717)

All pictures subject to copyright.