Tens of thousands of people demonstrated in Edinburgh for the independence of Scotland from Britain.
The participants waved blue-and-white Scottish flags, some demonstrators were wearing plaid or playing on the bagpipe. According to the organizers, around 200,000 people attended the demonstration in the Scottish capital, far more than expected.
"What a day! 250,000 are marching behind us for independence," tweeted the member of the Scottish National Party (SNP), Joanna Cherry, from the demonstration. The number of participants could be somewhat high: in a similar march last year, the organizers of about 100,000 protesters had spoken - the local government estimated the number of participants at that time, however, to about 20,000.
The Scottish Prime Minister and SNP Chair Nicola Sturgeon is aiming for a new referendum on independence in 2021. (Read a portrait of her here.) Sturgeon declared her support on Twitter. She was not personally, but "in spirit" present. Addressing the participants, she wrote: "Have a great day and do not doubt that independence will come."
In a referendum in 2014, 55 percent of the participants had decided to stay in the United Kingdom. However, the proponents of independence point out that the referendum on Britain's exit from the EU had not yet taken place. In the Brexit referendum in June 2016, 62 percent of the participants in Scotland had opposed leaving the EU.
