Demonstrators begin to arrive in Barcelona for National Day protest
450,000 register in rally and over 1,200 buses bring independence supporters to Catalan capital for demonstration
For yet another year on Catalonia's National Day, hundreds of thousands began arriving in Barcelona on Wednesday for the annual mass demonstration in support of the right to self-determination, which in past years has reached at least a million people.
Some 450,000 people have registered to the rally and over 1,200 buses had been reserved by the organizers, the Assemblea Nacional Catalana (ANC), to bring people to the Catalan capital to take part in the march that aims to fill some of the city's main thoroughfares with a sea of protestors.
Under the motto Objectiu independència (Objective independence), this year's demonstration comes with the Supreme Court's verdict in the trial of jailed Catalan politicians and activists due out in the next few weeks.
Aware that international media will be watching, for this year’s march the ANC is aiming for the people taking part to form a huge star shape that will be visible from the air, and converging on Espanya square.
Barcelona will see mobility severely reduced in the city due to the celebration of the rally, although underground metro services and commuter trains are expected to operate with more frequency.