Up to 20,000 expected at Catalan rally on Thursday

Police are preparing for up to 20,000 people to take part in a Catalan pro-independence rally in Brussels' EU district on Thursday - 10 times more than first announced.

Demonstrators will gather at Cinquantenaire park from 10.00 and the march will set off at 11.00, a spokeswoman for the Brussels-Ixelles police division confirmed.

The participants will make their way to Place Jean Rey, behind the European Council buildings, where the rally is due to finish at 14.00.

About 4,000 demonstrators are making their way from Catalonia to Brussels by coach and another 2,500 are due to arrive by plane. Shuttle buses have been chartered to ferry them from the airports to the rally and back.

The demonstration will be jointly policed by the Brussels-Ixelles local division and federal officers, who are in ongoing contact with the organisers. Reinforcements will be called in from neighbouring police zones as needed. The Montgomery police zone will be responsible for managing traffic.

When news of the demonstration first came out last month, it was reported than 2,000 members would be taking part from the Catalan branch of the ICEC - a group which represents several nationalist movements around Europe.

Pro-independence organisations will hold a joint press conference on Wednesday, ahead of the march, under the slogan: "Europe: Wake up! Let's stand up for democracy".