North Korea’s “mass games” propaganda spectacle appears likely to take its first year off since 2017, even as the ruling party celebrated the 50th anniversary of the organizing body Mass Gymnastic Production Company this week.

The shows typically involve tens of thousands of children and adults dancing, performing acrobatics and forming giant propaganda art backdrops. Such performances were held multiple times per week sometimes for months on end, and also required months of training prior to opening night. 

The last year the mass games were not held was in 2017, as part of a five-year hiatus after the “Arirang” mass