October 1: Catalan families occupy hundreds of schools, program activities all weekend long in bid to allow referendum
DIPLOCAT – Parents and children spent the weekend at schools and other polling stations organizing and attending a list of events, including workshops, sports games, music concerts, and other activities until 6am, to keep the schools open and prevent them from being sealed off by the police
Thousands of people supporting the referendum on independence camped overnight in hundreds of schools in Catalonia in an effort to prevent an order by the police to evacuate and close polling stations by 6am on Sunday. Voting was due to begin at 9am. We present here a collection of pictures and videos on that date in history.
PICTURES
People organizing themselves before spending the night at a school
Llagostera secondary school (Racocatala.cat by ACN)
Pius Font i Quer secondary school, Manresa (Regio7.cat by Salvador Redó)
People organizing themselves before spending the night at Escola Industrial secondary School, Barcelona
Spending the night at Escola Industrial secondary School, Barcelona (Ara.cat by Jordi Roviralta)
The crowd protects the polling station Ateneu Igualadí, Igualada (by VilaWeb)
Queue of voters at Tabor School, Barcelona (El Periódico by Danny Caminal)
An old women cast her ballot at Verd School, Girona (by Joan Castro/Iconna)
A woman kisses the hand of a member of the polling station as a sign of appreciation, Industrial School of Sabadell (by Nuria Puentes)
A woman shows the ballot with which she is about to vote in the referendum, at the Industrial School of Barcelona (El Diario.es by Sandra Lázaro)
VIDEOS
School activities to keep the schools open during the weekend and prevent the sealing of the polling station by the police (by TV3)
Activities for families at Dovella School to keep the school open till the day of the referèndum. Escola Dovella, Barcelona (by Ara.cat)
Activities for families at Univers School to keep the school open till the day of the referèndum. Univers School (Barcelona)
Activities for families at Univers School to keep the school open till the day of the referèndum. Vicenç Plantada Secondary School (Mollet del Vallès)
School activities to keep the schools open and prevent the sealing of the polling station by the police (by El Periódico)
School activities to keep the schools open and prevent the sealing of the polling station by the police
People queuing for vote cheer the first voters leaving the Univers School (Barcelona)
Because the long queues, the eldest were allowed to vote first, Escola del Treball (Barcelona)
First voter at the Planas i Casals School voting center at Badalona (Planas i Casals School)
Catalan Police (Mossos d’Esquadra) in the front line protecting a Polling Station at Viella moved to tears by the applause of their neighbours
The crowd welcomes the International parliamentary delegation arriving at a school in Barcelona
The crowd thanks the visit of the International parliamentary delegation at a school in Barcelona
People of Berga replaced the traditional figure of the eagle at the ‘Eagle’s dance’ for a ballot box
People of Berga sing “Els carrers seran sempre nostres!” (“The streets will always be ours!”)