The 2012 Catalan independence demonstration was a protest which occurred in central Barcelona in Catalonia, Spain, on 11 September 2012 during the National Day of Catalonia. The protestors demanded the independence of Catalonia and its establishment as a sovereign state under the slogan "Catalonia, new state in Europe". It was organized by the Catalan National Assembly (ANC) and headed together with the Association of Municipalities for Independence as the most prominent of a series of events known as "March towards Independence" which began on 30 June 2012 in Lleida.