Mass Games and Parades: North Korea Celebrates Its 70th Anniversary – The Atlantic

To mark its 70th birthday, North Korea held a military parade, put on a massive show with its first “mass games” artistic and gymnastic display in five years, and finished with a torchlight parade. Tens of thousands of military personnel and performers had been preparing for months for the displays in Kim Il Sung Square and May Day Stadium in Pyongyang. According to those in attendance, the themes this year appeared to emphasize international relationships, and to focus a little less on military might.