Every year May Day is used to mark many things – from the coming of spring in the Northern Hemisphere to the fight for workers’ rights. This year many rallies have been scaled back because of coronavirus lockdowns, although some have taken place on the streets and online.
Here are some of the events that have marked the day.
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Aris Messinis / AFP
Members of the Greek Labour Union (PAME), wearing protective masks and respecting the social distances, protest in front of the Greek Parliament in Athens
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Aris Messinis / AFP
The Greek government asked groups to delay public rallies by more than a week, but leading union GSEE called for a general strike to coincide with May Day
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Bulent Kilic / AFP
In Turkey, several demonstrators were arrested as they marched towards Istanbul’s symbolic Taksim Square to mark May Day in defiance of the government’s coronavirus lockdown
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Maja Hitij / Getty Images
Gatherings in Germany are currently limited by authorities to a maximum of 20, which means many small May Day protests are taking place instead of traditional, large-scale marches
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Angelo Carconi / EPA-EFE
People wearing face masks walk in the almost deserted Piazza San Giovanni square on International Workers’ Day in Rome, Italy
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Angelo Carconi / EPA-EFE
A red ribbon is tied to a lamppost in Rome where the streets would usually be full of protesters
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Murad Sezer / Reuters
In Thessaloniki, Greece, a woman holds a placard that reads: “No to robbing people for the profit of capital”
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Thomas Kronsteiner/Getty Images
In Vienna, Austria, protesters hold a banner reading: “Organise the masses in the duty of the proletarian world revolution”. There are 15 different registered demonstrations and gatherings across the city
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Thomas Kronsteiner / Getty Images
At one of those Vienna protests, participants painted circles on the floor to keep their distance as they demonstrated against the government measures to slow down the spread of coronavirus
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Billy H.C. Kwok / Getty Images
In Hong Kong riot police set up a cordon as pro-democracy activists gather outside a shopping centre
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Quique Garcia / EPA-EFE
Trade union members in Barcelona, Spain, hold up placards in front of the emergency admissions of a medical centre, calling for better working conditions and more protective equipment
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