The rally is being held amid celebrations Catalonia's national day — Diada. The Diada dates back to September 11, 1714 when the siege of Barcelona ended, after which Catalonia lost it autonomy. The national day was established in 1980 by regional authorities and has been celebrated since then.
At least 400,000 people have applied for participation in the celebrations, according to Catalan National Assembly.
On Wednesday last week, Catalonia’s Parliament passed a bill enabling an independence referendum to be held on October 1. The Spanish government called the bill illegal and challenged the legislation in the Constitutional Court. On Thursday, Spain's Constitutional Court suspended the Catalan law on referendum.
Catalonia has been seeking independence from Spain for years. On November 9, 2014, about 80 percent of the Catalans who took part in a non-binding referendum on the region's status as part of Spain voted in favor of Catalonia becoming an independent state. However, the independence vote was ruled unconstitutional by Madrid.
