Catalans call for 'yes' vote in Scotland as they march for independence from Spain

Up to 1.8 million Catalans filled the streets of Barcelona on Thursday demanding the chance to hold a Scottish-style referendum on independence.

A week before Scotland goes to the polls on whether to break away from the United Kingdom, separatists in Spain’s northeastern region of Catalonia called for their own referendum as they celebrated their national day.

An official from Barcelona's nationalist-led city hall told reporters it estimated turnout for the demonstration at 1.8 million, but central government officials put the figure much lower.

The Spanish government delegation in Catalonia ‎calculated the figure at between 470,000 and 520,000, it said in a statement.

Crowds dressed in the red and yellow national colours of Catalonia filled the streets of the region’s capital to form a giant "V" stretching seven miles - the "V" sign stands for via (way), voluntat (will), votar (vote) and victoria (victory).

Balconies across the city were draped in the estelada – the yellow and red stripped flag topped by a star set in a blue triangle – and the crowds were interspersed by people climbing on others’ shoulders to form the traditional Catalan “human castles”.

Earlier in the day Artur Mas, the president of the semi-autonomous region, said that Scotland’s upcoming vote would boost his own region’s bid for independence.

Catalonia is battling to hold its own Scottish-style vote on independence on November 9 but is on a collision course with the Spanish government of Mariano Rajoy after Madrid branded such a referendum illegal.

"If the yes wins (in Scotland) then all of the European governments will have to accept the result, including Madrid. And I am convinced that the negotiations between Brussels, London and Edinburgh will start very quickly with the goal to keep Scotland in the European Union."

"The consequences for us are important. It raises the question that if the Scottish people have the right to decide then why not the Catalan people."

Mr Mas has vowed to pass a regional law that he says will allow him to push ahead with the "consultation" vote, but his efforts risk being thwarted by Spain's Constitutional Court which is expected to rule against it later this month.

David Cameron has become an unlikely hero to Catalan separatists because he agreed to allow the Scottish referendum, while a steadfast Mariano Rajoy has discounted such a vote for Catalonia.

A giant poster of the British Prime Minister was unfurled during the demonstration.

Earlier in the day Mr Mas paid tribute to Mr Cameron "as deserving a place in history as the man who showed respect for democracy" and allowed Scottish people a voice.

"David Cameron accepted the democratic challenge, he understood that there was no other way than sitting at a table with Scottish leaders.

"We only wish we had the same high quality of democratic process here in Spain," the Catalan leader added.

The annual "Diada" celebrations have become a rallying day for Catalan separatists in the region of 7.5 million, which has its own language and culture and where nationalist sentiment has surged since the start of the economic crisis.

It marks the day when many in the region believe they lost their autonomy: September 11, 1714, when Barcelona fell to Spanish and French forces in the War of the Spanish Succession.

Organisers expected a turnout of more than a million people to demand the perceived right to decide on their own status beyond Spain.

Some held the Saltire alongside the Catalan national flag in a show of support for Scotland.

"Scotland is an example for us, we want to follow them on the path to hold our own vote," explained Juanjo Cantero, a 24-year-old student who travelled into Barcelona for the demonstration carrying the two flags.

"The Scottish are being allowed to decide their own future and we just want the same chance," he said.

Recent polls show that 80 per cent of Catalans want to vote on the issue but a survey published last Sunday in El Pais showed only 35 per cent believed Catalonia would achieve independence.

Opponents of secession think cutting themselves off from Spain would be an economic disaster.

South of Barcelona in the town of Tarragona on Thursday, the Catalan Civil Society movement called for a rival gathering to denounce independence as a "dead end".