Mass games


Mass games, or mass gymnastics, are a form of performing arts or gymnastics in which large numbers of performers take part in a highly regimented performance that emphasizes group dynamics rather than individual prowess.

North Korea

Mass games, such as the Arirang Mass Games, are performed annually in North Korea, at the Rungrado May Day Stadium, to celebrate national holidays such as the birthdays of former rulers Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il. In the 1990s, they were also held at the Kim Il-sung Stadium and the Pyongyang Gymnasium. North Korean mass games typically feature over 100,000 participants in a 90-minute display of gymnastics, dance, acrobatics, and dramatic performance, accompanied by music and other effects, all wrapped in a highly politicized package.
Per Kim Jong-il:
Mass gymnastics exhibit the North Korean idea of ilsim-dangyeol as well as nationalism.
The 2004 British documentary film A State of Mind follows two child gymnasts training for the mass games in Pyongyang.

Outside North Korea

Guyana

Guyana, under Forbes Burnham, held mass games in February 1980, to celebrate the nation's ten-year anniversary.

Europe

Germany
In Germany, Friedrich Ludwig Jahn developed a gymnastics method called Massenturnen. In 1860, in a bid to promote the sport, he initiated the. The festival continues to be held to this day, in the form of an international gymnastics event.
In East Germany, eight mass games, called the GDR Gymnastics and Sports Festival, were held in Leipzig. Participation was voluntary, and the segments combined both Western and Eastern elements, infused with German traditions.
Czechoslovakia/Czechia
Mass games developed in Czechoslovakia as part of the Sokol movement, a gymnastics organization that organizes the event. The word slet means "festival", or "gathering of birds". The first Slet was held in 1882 in Prague to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the organization's founding. Since 1994, Slets have been held every six years, with the most recent one having taken place in June 2024.
Czechoslovakia also organized the Spartakiad, a mass gymnastics event meant to celebrate the country's liberation by the Soviet Red Army in 1945. The event was held regularly between 1955 and 1990.
Yugoslavia
In Yugoslavia, similar activities, also called Slet, were organized, and one of these was the Relay of Youth; participation in the events was voluntary.
Romania
In Romania, the communist government organized compulsory mass games after General Secretary Nicolae Ceauşescu and his wife had visited the People's Republic of China and witnessed the event there.