One million Catalans march for independence on national day

The crowd in central Barcelona on September 11th, Catalan National Day, has been as many as one milion, as Catalans of all ages descend on the city. Nearly 2,000 buses chartered to bring people to the rally. The crowd - many sporting T-shirts in the national colours - formes a giant cross. Catalonia has passed a law to secede from Spain if the vote is Yes.

Up to 1 million Catalans have gathered in Barcelona to call for independence less than three weeks before the region is due to hold a bitterly divisive vote on breaking away from Spain.
For the sixth successive year, Catalonia’s national day – La Diada de Catalunya – was used as a political rally by the pro-independence movement. Although organisers said that 450,000 people had registered for the event, Barcelona police later tweeted that 1 million had turned up.

Although the Spanish government has vowed to stop the referendum going ahead on 1 October, the Catalan regional government is refusing to back down and polls suggest a clear majority of people in the wealthy, north-eastern region want to be allowed to vote.