In pictures: North Korea's mass games propaganda show

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.

Dancers waving North Korean flagsEPA

The games are a huge propaganda event

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

Aerial shot of the stadiumReuters

The games are designed to celebrate the country and boost morale

Dancers at the Arirang mass gamesEPA

The show is popular with foreign tourists and a source of revenue for Pyongyang

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

Stadium filled with performersReuters

The last games were held in 2013

Athletes doing a gymnastics performanceReuters

The event includes tens of thousands of participants, many of them children

Children doing a gymnastics performanceReuters

The UN has said children are forced to take part, or to help in the build-up

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)

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