Registrations open: The Great Get Together to take place on Jo Cox's birthday

The second Great Get Together kicks off a nationwide three days of community celebration on June 22, what would have been Jo's 44th birthday.
Residents at last year's inaugural Great Get Together celebrations.Residents at last year's inaugural Great Get Together celebrations.
Residents at last year's inaugural Great Get Together celebrations.

Jo’s sister, Kim Leadbeater, is bracing herself for an emotionally charged but above all happy weekend.

“It’ll make it a more emotional day for us, for sure, but we’ll get through it and the whole thing will be a celebration of her life,” she said,

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“From our point of view, seeing so many people enjoying what has become part of her legacy will be great.

“It’s very poignant that it will all start on her birthday. Our aim is to make sure that all memories of Jo are about the way she lived her life, not how she died.”

Along with her family, The Jo Cox Foundation is behind the mass celebration that was enjoyed by over nine million people last year.

It encourages people to organise and take part in fun community events such as street parties in an effort to bring people from all walks of life a little closer together.

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Registration for organisers of this year’s events have been opened and will be loosely themed around two of the country’s great passions; food and football.

The Great Get Together.The Great Get Together.
The Great Get Together.

England play against Panama in the World Cup on the Sunday. What better opportunity to bring people together?

Sport and football especially has a unique way of uniting the community and we want to embrace that, so there will be a focus on sporting activities on the Sunday. They don’t have to be competitive, they can be a three-legged race if people want to!”

Food was a central part of a lot of events last year and we’d like to keep that going.”

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The Friday, Jo’s birthday, will focus on events in schools and businesses.

The Great Get Together.The Great Get Together.
The Great Get Together.

“Whether it’s a special assembly or a coffee morning, we’re excited to get the schools involved.

“In terms of businesses, we’re calling on them to get involved and have a coffee with a department they don’t traditionally get along with or with another company across the road.

“That’s the spirit of what The Great Get Together is all about.”