Hundreds of thousands of people have gathered in Barcelona to celebrate Catalonia’s national day and rally in support of an independence referendum.
Many participants wore T-shirts with pro-independence slogans and carried the pro-independence flag, known as the ‘estelada’ featuring a blue triangle and white star set over the traditional Catalan flag of red and yellow stripes.
Organizers said at least 450,000 people were excepted to attend the event Monday, as photographs from the event showed huge crowds sweeping through the city.
Hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets of Barcelona on Monday to celebrate Catalonia’s national day, with many waving banners and flags in support of an proposed independence referendum
Up to half a million people were expected on the streets on Monday, many of whom marched with ‘estelada’ flags in support of Catalan independence from the rest of Spain
The Catalonia regional government has called for a binding referendum on October 1 over whether Catalonia should remain part of Spain, but the constitutional court has blocked it
Despite the legal challenge regional leaders say postal ballots have already been cast and many of those on the streets expected the referendum to be allowed to go ahead
Catalan residents are overwhelmingly in support of having a vote, but polls show they are split about actually leaving the rest of the country. The rest of Spain is strongly opposed to the idea
Marchers carrying a giant banner saying ‘independence, yes!’ march through the streets of Barcelona on Monday afternoon
Catalonia’s national day actually marks their defeat in the war of Spanish succession in 1714, in which the region was stripped of its institutions and laws, but in recent years has come to mark a celebration for new independence
Marchers sang, chanted slogans, waved banners and even formed human towers as they made their way through the city
Since 2012 the march has been used as a rally by those calling for independence, and this year’s crowds were some of the largest ever as a proposed referendum date draws near
The mood at the celebration was festive, with many of those attending expressing confidence that a promised referendum on secession will take place October 1.
A binding vote on independence was set by the regional government for that date, but Spain’s constitutional court has ordered it to be suspended and the central government is doing all it can to stop it.
Catalan officials say that mail-in voting by residents living abroad has already started despite the legal challenge.
CRegional president Carles Puigdemont says that if the ‘Yes’ vote wins, ‘we will have won the right to be listened to’ by the European Union.
Polls show most Catalans support having the referendum but are roughly divided over splitting from Spain. Most Spaniards reject it.
However, the Catalan government has vowed to hold the referendum and be bound by its result to either declare independence or call regional elections.
A woman with the pro-independence flag and the date of Catalonia Day, September 11, painted on her cheeks was among those marching in Barcelona
Spain has long resisted calls for Catalonia to be granted independence, and could reject the new vote as illegal and unconstitutional – though these marchers refuse to believe it
Carles Puigdemont, Catalonia’s president, called for the referendum for ‘libery and democracy’, but Spanish prime minister Mario Rajoy called it ‘an intolerable act of disobedience’
Mario Rajoy is a staunch opponent of Catalan independence and has refused outright to negotiate over the status of the region, which is technically an ‘autonomous community’ – leading many to accuse him of being too harsh
Catalonia has already been deemed ‘the most autonomous region of Europe’ after being granted a series of sweeping powers in earlier referendums, but is now demanding full independence
Street mongers sell Catalonian flags outside Casa Batllo during the National Day of Catalonia, known as Diada, in Barcelona
A family draped is esterala flags – a mixture of the traditional Catalan red and yellow stripes with a blue and white motif over the top symbolising independence – sit in the curb in Barcelona
Posters of the leftist Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya party, which is pro-independence, adorn the walls of this building as two women wearing pro-independence flags walk by
Others chose to show their support for independence by wearing t-shirts emblazoned with the flag