The Concert for Freedom was a concert held at Camp Nou football stadium in

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

on 29 June 2013, organized by

Òmnium Cultural Òmnium Cultural () is a Catalan association based in Barcelona, Catalonia. It was originally created in the 1960s to promote the Catalan language and spread Catalan culture. Over the years it has increased its involvement in broader political is ...

in conjunction with other civil society organization such as the

Assemblea Nacional Catalana The Assemblea Nacional Catalana ("Catalan National Assembly"; ANC by its Catalan acronym) is an organization that seeks the political independence of Catalonia from Spain. It also promotes the independence of other Catalan-speaking regions, whic ...

and the Plataforma Pro Seleccions Esportives Catalanes with the goal using the universal language of music to demand the right of

Catalonia Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a '' nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy. Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the nort ...

and other nations of the world to freely and democratically decide their future. Some 90,000 people were in attendance. Between the 2012 Catalan independence demonstration and the Catalan Way, the concert was another social mobilization event in favor of

independence Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the statu ...

. More than 400 artists performed, among them Lluís Llach, Sopa de Cabra, Miquel Gil, Pastora, Joana Serrat, Jofre Bardagí, Jordi Batiste, Lídia Pujol,

Maria del Mar Bonet Maria del Mar Bonet i Verdaguer (Balearic Catalan: ; born 1947 in Palma, Majorca) is a Spanish singer from the island of Majorca. Early life and career Bonet studied ceramics in the school of arts, but eventually decided to dedicate herself to ...

Marina Rossell Marina Rossell i Figueras (born 17 January 1954 in Castellet i la Gornal,) is a Spanish singer in Catalan and Spanish. She's one of the most important singers in the modern Catalan language. She has sung traditional and revolutionary classical Ca ...

, Mercedes Peón, Nena Venetsanou, Orfeó Català, Paco Ibáñez,

Pascal Comelade Pascal Paul Vincent Comelade (born 30 June 1955), is a French musician. Comelade was born in Montpellier, France. After living for several years in Barcelona, he made his first album, ''Fluence'', influenced by electronic music and by the grou ...

, Pau Alabajos, Pep Sala,

Peret Pedro Pubill Calaf ( ; 24 March 1935 – 27 August 2014), better known as Peret, was a Spanish Romani singer, guitar player and composer of Catalan rumba from Mataró (Barcelona). Known for his 1971 single, "Borriquito" (Ariola Records), Per ...

, Projecte Mut, Sabor de Gràcia, Ferran Piqué, Joan Enric Barceló & Eduard Costa from Els Amics de les Arts, and

Brams Brams is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Steven Brams (born 1940), American game theorist and political scientist * Ingeborg Brams Ingeborg Brams (; 9 December 1921 – 14 October 1989) was a Danish film, radio, tel ...

. The artistic directors were Gerard Quintana and Lluís Danés, who was in charge of

set design Scenic design (also known as scenography, stage design, or set design) is the creation of theatrical, as well as film or television scenery. Scenic designers come from a variety of artistic backgrounds, but in recent years, are mostly trained ...

. The stage featured various steps symbolizing the path toward freedom. Also present at Camp Nou were nine members of the

Catalan government The Generalitat de Catalunya (; oc, label= Aranese, Generalitat de Catalonha; es, Generalidad de Cataluña), or the Government of Catalonia, is the institutional system by which Catalonia politically organizes its self-government. It is formed ...

and representatives from the majority of Catalan political parties that support Catalonia's right to self-determination. Muriel Casals, the president of

, gave a speech affirming that "Catalonia's independence movement is not against anyone or anything" and requesting that politicians not delay the process toward a

referendum A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of a ...

Background

Concert tickets went on sale on Monday, 3 June and almost all (60,000) were sold the same day, with online wait times to purchase tickets that exceeded six hours. This caused the organization to initially freeze ticket sales and then release 30,000 tickets for sale on the 17th, though these were for seats at the south goal post of the stadium, behind the stage. When the singer

Dyango José Gómez Romero, artistically known as Dyango (born March 5, 1940), nicknamed "The Voice of Love", is a Spanish musician and singer of romantic music. He is widely regarded as one of the most romantic Spanish singers, and one of the best p ...

announced his participation in the Concert for Freedom, some Spaniards were outraged. Dyango was not intimidated by the attitudes of the hosts on 13 TV, an ecclesiastic television channel that is one of the stalwarts of Spanish nationalism, in the face of his support for separatism. He affirmed that the current goal is to hold a Catalan referendum, and ultimately achieve full separation from Spain.

also denounced pressure and threats he has received for participating in the concert. Singer-songwriter from the Canary Islands, Pedro Guerra, cancelled his participation in the concert alleging that the event had veered toward "purely separatist motivations that he doesn't share" and that "this is not his fight," while affirming that he was not pressured into withdrawing. Singer

Mayte Martín Mayte Martín (born in Barcelona, Spain, April 19, 1965) is a Flamenco cantaora (singer), bolero singer, and composer. She is widely recognized as one of the most important flamenco voices of her generation. She has also devoted part of her care ...

also withdrew at the last minute for similar motives.

Program

Before the concert an information fair was set up outside Camp Nou and the local

Food Bank A food bank is a non-profit, charitable organization that distributes food to those who have difficulty purchasing enough to avoid hunger, usually through intermediaries like food pantries and soup kitchens. Some food banks distribute food direct ...

established collection points to benefit the needy, collecting a total of 25 tons of food. The event was divided in two halves. In the first half, various artists interpreted songs related to freedom and popular Catalan tunes such as "L'emigrant" (The Emigrant) sung by

; "Què volen aquesta gent?" (What do these people want?) sung by María del Mar Bonet and

Companyia Elèctrica Dharma Companyia Elèctrica Dharma is a Spanish band. Many of its members are brothers, from the district of Sants, in the city of Barcelona. They have performed in Europe, North and South America, and Africa at music festivals such as "Rock in Rio", Rio ...

, and "Camins" (Paths) sung by Sopa de Cabra. The second half featured songs by Lluís Llach sung both by the artist himself and other artists such as Orfeó Català, Perros, Ramoncín, Pastora and Miquel Gil, in homage to Llach's concert at Camp Nou in 1985, remembered as a protest in supports of the rights of the Catalan nation. At halftime, the

Castellers de Vilafranca The Castellers de Vilafranca () is a cultural and sporting association whose main objective is to build castells (human towers). It has the status of a public-interest association. The group was founded in 1948 in response to the increased i ...

orchestrated a 9 level high human tower called a ''3 de 9 amb folre'' and they played the Catalan national anthem "

Els segadors "Els Segadors" (, ; "The Reapers") is the official national anthem of Catalonia, Nationalities and regions of Spain, nationality and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain. History The original song dates in the oral t ...

," while forming a giant mosaic reading "Freedom Catalonia 2014." During the first half, readings were performed between songs by Cristina Plazas, Anna Sahun, Bonaventura Clotet,

Manel Esteller Manel Esteller (Sant Boi de Llobregat, Barcelona, Catalonia, 1968) graduated in Medicine from the University of Barcelona in 1992, where he also obtained his doctorate, specializing in the molecular genetics of endometrial carcinoma, in 1996. He w ...

, Miquel Casas, Pere Joan Cardona, Alícia Casals,

Isona Passola Isona Passola i Vidal is a film producer, screenwriter and director from Barcelona. She is the current president of the Catalan Film Academy The Catalan Film Academy (''Acadèmia del Cinema Català'', in Catalan) is a non-profit organization ...

, Ventura Pons, Joel Joan, Jordi Díaz, Josep Pedrals, Lluís Soler, Màrius Serra, Matthew Tree, Montserrat Carulla,

Núria Feliu Núria Feliu i Mestres (21 September 1941 – 22 July 2022) was a Spanish Catalan singer and actress, a singular figure of the Nova Cançó movement. Career Feliu was born on 21 September 1941 in the Barcelona neighbourhood of Sants, a neighb ...

, Quim Masferrer, Roger Coma and Sílvia Bel. Readings were written by Bertolt Brecht, Dolors Miquel, Enric Casasses,

Jacint Verdaguer Jacint Verdaguer i Santaló (; 17 May 1845 – 10 June 1902) was a Catalan / Spanish writer, regarded as one of the greatest poets of Catalan literature and a prominent literary figure of the Renaixença, a cultural revival movement of the ...

La veu del Montseny
, Joan Margarit, Joana Raspall
El vell vestit
, Maria Àngels Anglada, Marià Villangómez,

Miquel Martí i Pol Miquel Martí i Pol (; 19 March 1929 – 11 November 2003) was one of the most popular and widely-read Catalan poets of the twentieth century, publishing more than 1,500 poems. Biography At the age of 14, Martí i Pol started work in the offic ...

, Montserrat Abelló,

Salvador Espriu Salvador Espriu i Castelló (; 10 July 1913 – 22 February 1985) was a Catalan poet. Biography Espriu was born in Santa Coloma de Farners, Catalonia, Spain. He was the son of an attorney. He spent his childhood between his home town, Barcelon ...

El meu poble i jo
, Vicent Andrés Estellés,

Joan Brossa Joan Brossa (; 19 January 1919 – 30 December 1998) was a Catalan poet, playwright, graphic designer and visual artist. He wrote only in the Catalan language. He was one of the founders of both the group and the publication known as Dau-al-Se ...

, Josep Maria de Sagarra
La campana de Sant Honorat
.

International reception

The Concert for Freedom was covered by several international media agencies (such as

Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters Corporation. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency was esta ...

and

The Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newsp ...

) and various newspapers, television and radio stations from France, Germany, Italy, Poland, the Netherlands, Portugal, etc. One of the most talked-about images from the event by the media was the mosaic that unfolded in the stands during the playing of the national anthem of Catalonia. Among the articles covering the event were: *

Le Figaro ''Le Figaro'' () is a French daily morning newspaper founded in 1826. It is headquartered on Boulevard Haussmann in the 9th arrondissement of Paris. The oldest national newspaper in France, ''Le Figaro'' is one of three French newspapers of r ...

(France): Un stade sang et or pour l'indépendace de la Catalogne (Blood- and Gold-Colored Stadium for Catalan Independence) * L'Indépendant (France)
Grand concert pour l'indépendance catalane ce samedi soir au Camp Nou avec Lluis Llach
(Huge Concert for Catalan Independence Saturday at Camp Nou with Lluís Llach) *

Wiener Zeitung ''Wiener Zeitung'' is an Austrian newspaper. It is one of the oldest, still published newspapers in the world. It is the official publication used by the Government of the Republic of Austria for legally-required announcements, such as company r ...

(Austria)
90.000 fordern bei "Konzert für Freiheit" Unabhängigkeit Kataloniens
(90,000 Call for Catalan Independence at Concert for Freedom) * DS De Standaard (Flanders)
90.000 mensen op concert voor onafhankelijkheid Catalonië
(90,000 People at Concert for Catalan Independence) * RTBF Info (Wallonia)
Quelque 90 000 personnes au “Concert pour la Paix” pour indépendance de la Catalogne
(Some 90,000 People at "Concert for Peace" for Catalan Independence) * Stol (South Tyrol)
90 000 fordern bei „Konzert für Freiheit“ Unabhängigkeit Kataloniens
(90,000 Call for Catalan Independence at "Concert for Freedom") *

Zürcher Unterländer Zürcher Unterländer, commonly shortened to ''ZUL'', is a Swiss German-language daily newspaper, published in Bülach. History and profile Founded in 1852, the newspaper has a leading position in the districts of Bülach and Dielsdorf. The T ...

(Switzerland)
90 000 fordern bei „Konzert für Freiheit“ Unabhängigkeit Kataloniens
(90,000 Call for Catalan Independence at "Concert for Freedom") * Neue Luzerner Neitung (Switzerland)
Katalonen fordern Unabhängigkei
(Catalans Demand Independence) * 7seizh.info (Britain)
Barcelone : 90 000 personnes au « concert pour la liberté » de la Catalogne
(Barcelona: 90,000 People at Concert for "Catalan Freedom") * RTP Noticias (Portugal)
Catalães celebram luta pela independência da Catalunha
(Catalans Celebrate Fight for Catalan Independence) * Enikos (Greece)
”Πλημμύρισαν” το Καμπ Νου
(Camp Nou, Filled to the Brim) * Tanea (Greece)
Συναυλία για την Ελευθερία της Καταλωνίας
(Concert for Catalan Freedom) * 24Sports (Cypress)
«Πλημμύρισε» το Καμπ Νου για την ανεξαρτησία της Καταλονίας
(Camp Nou: Full to the Brim for Catalan Independence) * BBC Amèrica Latina
Multitudinario concierto por la independencia de Cataluña
(Massive Concert for Catalan Independence)

References

External links

Webpage of the event

Webpage of Òmnium Cultural

Webpage of Assemblea Nacional Catalana

Dossier especial sobre el Concert per la Llibertat a Vilaweb
; Important Videos
Cinc hores de concert, condensades en quinze minuts

El vídeo dels Segadors i el mosaic per la independència al Camp Nou

Parlament de Muriel Casals

Lluís Llach - "Venim del nord, venim del sud"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Concert for Freedom 2013 concerts Catalan independence movement 2013 in Catalonia