Firstly, as Mayor this city, I want to make something absolutely clear: there will be no impunity here. We will do everything necessary so that those who come with fascist hate speech answer for their deeds and what they have done.

We did it a few days ago; we will do it again every time there is an attack against the LGBTI community of our city- it will not just be an attack against one group, it will be an attack against the whole city. This is because we really want to be an open city, of rights and freedoms- and this is not mere rhetoric. Here and now today, the rights of each and every resident of our city are at stake.

We want our children to be able to grow up in a truly democratic city, and above all, in a city where they can be what they want to be and how they want to be and love whomever they want to love. We want the residents of our city to be happy, now and forever. For this, we will defend our happiness, our right to our own bodies, to love whom we want and be what we want. We will stand firm in our defence.

A few days ago, there was a completely unacceptable attack in our city’s metro, also an LGBTI-motivated attack. From Barcelona City Council, we have become involved in the case and have been in touch with the Office of the Public Prosecutor. And today, we want to make it clear that this was not just any attack. This was not just broken windows and glass. Let no one be in any doubt. This was an attack on democracy, rights and freedoms. This was an attack by a cowardly minority, who at 4 am, hiding from all of us, we who are here in the street and showing our faces, came in the early hours to attack, not just breaking windows, but attacking democracy itself. And that is why, with total conviction, the institution of Barcelona City Council has become involved and will see this out to the end, so that those responsible answer for their deeds in court.

While you are here today, veterans, I would like to thank all those people who for decades have been fighting for our rights, so that we we can live how we want and love who we want. To the LGBTI organisations and groups that have made Barcelona a better city and a city at the fore, a brave and innovative city, a city proud of its diversity as the only form of normality, as there is no other normality other than diversity. So to all of you who have made Barcelona, we are here and we are fighting by your side. The legacy of the LGBTI movement which fills our city with pride is to make all of us better.

Today we are doing the best we can: meeting up with each other, hugging each other, celebrating that we are what we are, that we love whom we love. Barcelona is ours. The streets and the squares are ours. This centre is a marvellous conquest by the LGTBI movement and for the city that we want to be. We will defend it, we will defend it with all our strength, and what better defence than what has already be made: all the city's residents who have got involved, who have filled these windows with messages of love and support, and we will do so as many times as necessary. Let them come. They will find us here. We are not afraid. They want us to be scared, but we are not. They cannot infect us with their hatred. This is a proud city- of love and life.

And one final thing: we are all responsible for this centre. This is a message for the whole of Barcelona: at this LGBTI centre, our present and our future are at stake. Therefore, we must fill it with life, with ever more strength, with more rage, with more joy than ever. This is a democratic, anti-fascist city where we champion love and life and this LGBTI centre represents us more than ever. Full of pride, not one step back.

Many thanks.