EDINBURGH, September 18. /ITAR-TASS/. Scottish politicians and celebrities attended the historic referendum on independence on Thursday, which they called a ‘900-minute’ vote aimed at deciding the fate of Scotland.

Hundreds of celebrities have already “participated” in the referendum, calling on people in Scotland to say ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to independence.

‘Agent 007’ Sean Connery, soccer player David Beckham, musicians Paul McCartney, David Bowie and Bjork, broadcaster David Attenborough, fashion designer Vivienne Westwood and author J.K. Rowling have supported one of the campaigns.

More than 2,600 polling places are open on Thursday from 7 a.m. (0600 GMT) until 10 p.m. (2100 GMT). The results are expected to be announced on Friday morning. According to official estimates, a total of 4.3 million voters in the nation of 5.3 million people have been registered for the referendum.

If the majority says ‘yes’ to a divorce from the United Kingdom, independence will be proclaimed March 24, 2016, and the parliamentary election will be held in May of the same year.

The current referendum on the Scottish independence is not a unique event in the world. Over the past 30 years, similar votes on major nationwide issues were held in Canada’s Quebec, South Ossetia and Abkhazia, formerly part of Georgia, Indonesia’s East Timor, Moldova’s Transnistria and the Republic of South Sudan.

By the end of the year, Spain’s autonomous region of Catalonia and the Iraqi Kurdistan in northern Iraq will also hold referendums. In most cases, the international community has been reluctant to acknowledge the results of the vote.