Event details and schedule

L’Ajuntament de Reus will host its institutional Diada Nacional de Catalunya ceremony on Friday 11 September at Plaça del Baluard, beginning at 10:00 AM. The event opens with a musical performance by Quartet Floral, followed by an institutional floral offering led by Mayor Sandra Guaita and municipal representatives. At 10:35 AM, dancer Laura Roig will present a tribute dance honouring the National Day. This will be followed by floral offerings from local organisations, accompanied by live music.

Fàtima Sabench to deliver keynote address

The central moment of the ceremony will be the reading of the Diada glossa, to be delivered by Fàtima Sabench Pereferrer, dean of the Faculty of Medicine at Universitat Rovira i Virgili (URV) in Reus. She was invited by Mayor Guaita to deliver the address, which will highlight themes of cultural identity, social cohesion and collective memory.

Fàtima Sabench Pereferrer will use her address to reflect on the importance of identity, culture and unity in today’s context.

Born in Girona in 1967, Sabench moved to Reus in 1986 to study medicine, then part of the University of Barcelona’s Division VII. After working at Reus Hospital and the city council, she began her academic and research career in 2002 in the Department of Surgery at URV. She earned her doctorate in 2006 and has served as full-time professor and researcher since. In 2022, she was elected dean of the Faculty of Medicine. Her research focuses on bariatric surgery and post-surgical metabolic responses, both clinically and experimentally. She currently leads the Research Group in Surgery at Hospital Universitari Sant Joan de Reus.

Castellers and closing anthem

At 11:15 AM, the Xiquets de Reus will perform a human tower demonstration, raising a pilar formation. The ceremony concludes at 11:30 AM with a communal singing of 'Els Segadors', Catalonia’s regional anthem, led by the Orfeó Reusenc and joined by attendees. The event aims to commemorate 11 September as a symbol of resistance and collective memory for the Catalan people, with participation from city institutions, civil society groups and the public.

Primary sources: eb.gencat.cat. Reported by reusdigital.cat, Infocamp, Diari de Tarragona, canalreus.cat, DiariTots21, radioteca.cat, diaridetarragona.com, defiestaenfiesta.es, surtdecasa.cat.