Catalan National Day

Thousands of demonstrators take to the streets in Barcelona, Tarragona, Lleida, Girona, and Tortosa

Officials honor Rafael Casanova, Barcelona's chief councilor severely injured during Spain's succession war

Salvador Illa promises stronger public services and fairer wages in National Day speech

Government delegations in 19 countries will organize cultural and gastronomic activities

This September 11 will be the first National Day in over a decade with a pro-Spanish unity executive in charge

Hundreds of buses bring people from all over Catalonia to take part in demonstration

Barcelona; Salt, next to Girona; Berga, in Central Catalonia; Lleida in the West; and Tarragona in the South beat this Sunday afternoon all at once to demand Catalonia’s Independence. At 17:14 (5.14 pm CET) all the demonstrators lifted a yellow card in the shape of a circle symbolising a heartbeat and responded to the motto ‘Go ahead, Catalan Republic’. According to local police up to 900,000 people took part in the five rallies. Among the demonstrators was the Catalan President, Carles Puigdemont, who didn’t follow the path of the former president, Artur Mas, and chose to participate in the rally held in Salt. 

This year’s demonstration on Catalonia’s National Day took place in five different cities simultaneously: Barcelona; Salt, next to Girona; Berga, in Central Catalonia; Lleida in the East and Tarragona in the South. At 17:14 (5.14 pm CET) all the demonstrators lifted a yellow card in the shape of a circle symbolising a heart-beat and responded to the motto ‘Go ahead, Catalan Republic’. According to the organisers, this year’s motto ‘We are ready’ aims to symbolise two things: that Catalonia “is ready to achieve the republic” and that the citizens have already reached “the final stage” of the pro-independence process, explained the presidents of both the Catalan National Assembly (ANC) and Òmnium Cultural, the two main civil organisations behind the massive pro-independence demonstrations held since 2012. 

This year’s demonstration to celebrate Catalonia’s National Day on the 11^th of September will be held simultaneously in five different cities all over the territory: Barcelona, Salt, Berga, Lleida and Tarragona. Nearly 380,000 people have already registered to take part in some of these events, united under the motto ‘A punt’ (‘We are ready’). According to the organisers,Catalan National Assembly (ANC) and Òmnium Cultural, this year’s mobilisation aims to symbolise two things: that Catalonia “is ready to achieve the republic” and that the citizens have already reached “the final stage” of the pro-independence process, the presidents of both the civil society associations explained. In the different places where demonstrators are expected to gather, the same concrete action will have to be carried out at 17:14 – symbolising 1714, the year in which Catalonia was defeated by Bourbon troops and lost its institutions. 

The Catalan Government and the Catalan Parliament gathered this Saturday evening in an institutional ceremony to celebrate Catalonia’s National Day. This year, the commemoration paid tribute to major migrations and claimed Catalonia as a welcoming land throughout history. The ceremony took place for the first time at the Born Cultural Centre and not on ‘Plaça Sant Jaume’, the square where Barcelona’s Town Hall and Palau de la Generalitat, the Catalan Government headquarters, are located. Some former presidents of Catalonia, such as Artur Mas and José Montilla, also took part in the event, as did most of the political parties in the Catalan Chamber. The Conservative People’s Party (PP) andSpanish Unionist Ciutadans refused to attend.

On the 11th of September, Catalonia commemorates the day when it was finally defeated by the troops of absolute king Philip V in 1714. That day Catalonia stopped being recognised as a nation and lost its self-government. Since 2012, mass demonstrations have been added to the commemoration of this historical day and have become known worldwide as rallies that measure Catalans’ feelings and political demands. This year, the Catalan National Assembly (ANC) and Òmnium Cultural, the two main civil associations behind the last pro-independence mobilisations on the 11th of September, have organised actions to take place in five different cities all over the territory: Barcelona; Salt, in Girona; Berga, in Central Catalonia; Lleida; and Tarragona. Under the motto ‘A punt’ (‘We are ready’), the demonstration aims to symbolise that Catalonia “is ready to achieve the republic”.