Rallies like you’ve never seen

The Diada, celebrated on September 11^th, is Catalonia’s National day. It commemorates the fall of Barcelona on September 11^th, 1714, at the end of the War of Spanish Succession. The Catalan people have since then commemorated this day as the day they lost their liberties and the institutions of the Catalan-Aragonese Confederation. This was formalised with the Spanish Nueva Planta decrees, which abolished the institutions, privileges and the ancient charters of the Crown of Aragon.

Nowadays, the Diada has become a popular, festive and peaceful day, on which people rally in favour of Catalan independence. Since 2012, massive demonstrations have filled Barcelona and Catalonia’s streets. Every year, more than a million demonstrators take to the streets. In 2013, people formed a large chain from Catalonia’s border in the south to the Spanish state border in the north, holding their hands together for over 400 kms (250 miles). Read more about in the sections below!