Norway marks first anniversary of massacre

More than 100,000 people are expected to gather in Oslo today to mark the first anniversary of the Norwegian massacre.

Commemorations are set to include a church service at Oslo Cathedral, wreath laying at the sites of the terror attacks and a memorial concert.

The Norwegian royal family and prime minister Jens Stoltenberg will be among those attending events throughout the day.

A ago year today, Anders Behring Breivik killed 77 people in twin attacks that scarred Norway and shocked the world.

The right-wing extremist slaughtered eight people by detonating a bomb near government buildings in Oslo and a further 69 during a shooting spree at a political youth camp on the nearby Utoya island.

Breivik maintained that his attacks were necessary to defend Norway against multiculturalism and a "Muslim invasion."

On the eve of the anniversary, Stoltenberg told German newspaper Sueddeutsche Zeitung that democracy in Norway had grown stronger after the massacre.