Òmnium Cultural used this year’s Diada to urge Catalan politics to confront extremism and reject hate speech, while reclaiming Catalonia’s tradition of integration.
President Xavier Antich delivered a shortened five-minute address after heavy rain forced the cancellation of the organisation’s annual event at Passeig de Lluís Companys in Barcelona. Flanked by Òmnium’s board, he called for a renewed ‘social hegemony’ for independence, anchored in democratic consensus and inclusion.
Antich stressed that Catalonia is a country of eight million inhabitants, now sociologically diverse, with the challenge of revitalising the use of the Catalan language. He noted that fewer than a third of residents currently use Catalan as their habitual language, describing its promotion as the movement’s ‘great national objective’.
He directly addressed the rise of the far right and the xenophobic rhetoric of Aliança Catalana, warning against those who fuel hatred. Instead, he celebrated the role of immigration in building modern Catalonia: ‘This diversity is not an anomaly. Immigration has been a structural phenomenon for more than a century, and we are proud of it.’
Antich called on Catalans to foster a shared sense of belonging among newcomers as a means to strengthen social cohesion. His intervention came just hours after the Catalan High Court annulled the decree protecting Catalan in schools, a decision he condemned, urging renewed efforts to defend the language.
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