2012 Catalan independence demonstration

The 2012 Catalan independence demonstration was a protest march which occurred in central Barcelona in Catalonia, on 11 September 2012 during the National Day of Catalonia. The protestors demanded the independence of Catalonia and its consolidation as a sovereign state under the slogan "Catalonia, new state in Europe" (Catalan: "Catalunya, nou estat d'Europa"). It was organized by the Catalan National Assembly (ANC) and headed together with the Association of Municipalities for Independence as the final and the most prominent of a series of events known as "March towards Independence" (Catalan: "Marxa cap a la Independència") which began on 30 June 2012 in Lleida.

The number of participants was estimated at about 1.5 million according to Barcelona's Municipal Police and Catalonia's Department of the Interior, about 2 million according to the organizers, and about 600,000 according to the delegation of the Spanish government in Catalonia. La Directa magazine estimated at minimum 1,056,000 by counting occupied area and density.