The Assemblea Nacional Catalana (ANC), a civil-society organisation that campaigns for Catalan independence, has called on people attending this year's Diada demonstrations to display and celebrate the estelada, the independence flag distinguished by its star.
In a video published by the organisation on Sunday, the ANC said the flag represented freedom, political demands and civil disobedience. The call applies to decentralised demonstrations on 11 September in Barcelona, Girona and Amposta.
“They can confiscate an estelada, but they cannot make disappear what makes us raise it,” the ANC said.
For residents and visitors planning to take part, the rallies will begin at different times and from different meeting points. This year's shared slogan is Hi soc. Hi som, Catalan for “I am here, we are here”, followed by the organisers' call for independence “for the present and the future”.
Where and when the three demonstrations will start
The ANC is organising the mobilisation with Òmnium Cultural, the Associació de Municipis per la Independència, the Consell de la República, the Intersindical trade union and CIEMEN, an organisation working on minority nations and communities.
- Barcelona, 17:14: one column will leave from Gran Via at Carrer de Casanova, while another will set off from Via Laietana at Plaça de la Catedral. Both are due to converge at Plaça de Catalunya.
- Girona, 16:30: a single march will run from Plaça de Pompeu Fabra to La Copa.
- Amposta, 16:00: two columns will leave from Carrer Sebastià Juan Arbó and Avinguda de Santa Bàrbara, meeting at Plaça de Santa Susanna.
Organisers announced the three-city format in July. They said the demonstrations would combine the independence demand with concerns raised by participants about Rodalies commuter rail disruptions, housing access, public services and the Catalan language.
Reported by t.co, rtve.es, lavanguardia.com, 20minutos, El País, elnacional.cat, sport.es, europapress.es, fcbarcelona.com, El Nacional, El Punt Avui.
