On October 7, 2012 the rival Spanish soccer teams Real Madrid and FC Barcelona will meet at Camp Nou (the latter's stadium) for the latest match in a rivalry famously known as “el clásico [2]“. With six days left before the game, the Catalan activist group Veus per la Independència [3] [ca] or “Voices for Independence” is encouraging fans to bring their estelades [4] (Catalan separatist flags) in order to fill their team's stadium with nationalist symbols.
Other initiatives include organizing a mass recital [5] of Els Segadors [6], the Catalan national anthem, when the clock hits 17:14 (referencing the events of 1714 that Catalonia's national holiday [7] commemorates).
On the Facebook event [1], titled “Clàssic de la llibertat” or “Classic of freedom”, Veus per la Independència has asked:
El proper 7 d'octubre al Camp Nou el món ens tornarà a mirar, es juga un dels partits amb més audiència al món, el Barça-Madrid. Us demanem que un cop més i de forma cívica però majoritària, mostrem al món la nostra voluntat de ser.
The hashtag #CampNouPleDEstelades [8] (Flood the Camp Nou with estelades) has surfaced for tweets relating to the game:
@jordanesku10 [9] Queden 6dies x l Barça-Madriz serà 1altre dia HISTORIC cm #11S2012 [10] # [11]27S2012 # [12]7OCT12 [13] #CampNouPleDEstelades [8] HO VEURÀ TOT EL MÓN! #tenimpressa [14]
@quvic [15] #CampNouPleDEstelades [8] les nostres armes: la força de la gent expressant-se lliure,pacífica i democràticament.Que ho vegi TOT EL MÓN ││*/││
@sc_cat [16] Això! Que els espanyols q veuen el partit, s.enterin del q volen els catalans realment! #campNouPleDEstelades [8]!! #@barcelona11s @annacat1973 [17]
On September 19, eight days after the 1.5 million person separatist march [18] in Barcelona, an unusual chorus of cheers [19] for independence filled Camp Nou during a match. Certain Twitter users have expressed hope that the idea swiftly gains momentum, especially when Real Madrid comes to Barcelona next week.
The current political climate, which has taken a drastic shift towards separatism following a massive protest on September 11 — early elections will be held on November 25 and a referendum for independence has been promised — has created a context that elevates the significance of the coming Clásico match. In fact, a group of Real Madrid supporters have petitioned [20] [es] the team's president, Florentino Pérez, to abandon the field if FC Barcelona fans begin chanting “independència.“