Youth Day in South Africa - in pictures

Children stand in front of a memorial of Hector Pieterson, an icon of the 1976 uprising Photograph: Kim Ludbrook/EPA

Young people participate in a march in Soweto Photograph: Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images

South Africans take pictures of people laying flowers at the Hector Pieterson memorial Photograph: Jerome Delay/AP

Young South Africans carry a banner through Soweto Photograph: Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images

Girls from the village of Mvezo take part in a netball tournament as part of Youth Day celebrations. Mvezo is the birth place of former South African president Nelson Mandela Photograph: Jennifer Bruce/AFP/Getty Images

A young man strikes a defiant pose during a commemerative march Photograph: Christopher Furlong/Getty Images

People dance as they take part in the march Photograph: Christopher Furlong/Getty Images

Thousands of people turn up to participate Photograph: Christopher Furlong/Getty Images

Young men cheer at the march Photograph: Christopher Furlong/Getty Images

A dance troupe entertains the crowd Photograph: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

A baby looks on while being carried in a papoose through the march Photograph: Reuters

South African children from the Yonaa Yethu dance group perform on a street in the informal settlement of Masiphumelele in Cape Town Photograph: Nic Bothma/EPA

Children from Diepsloot play on the public holiday that follows Youth Day Photograph: Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images

Residents of Diepsloot go about their daily activities as the sun sets Photograph: Christopher Furlong/Getty Images

Young residents of Diepsloot pose for the camera Photograph: Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images