Thousands of protesters, mainly students, descended on Serbia's capital on Friday ahead of a planned weekend of massive anti-government rallies, many travelling hundreds of miles on foot or by bike.

The Serbian capital was on edge ahead of Saturday's anti-government rally, with the authorities stepping up efforts to dissuade people from attending. View on euronews

Thousands of students in Serbia on Friday continued to march towards Belgrade to attend an anti-government rally planned for Saturday in the capital.

The citizens of Belgrade came out to welcome thousands of university students from across the country for the rally on Saturday.

Serbia's capital Belgrade was on edge on Friday ahead of a major anti-government rall y this weekend, with populist President Aleksandar Vucic's government ramping up efforts to dissuade people from attending with warnings of violence and arrests of opponents.