PEOPLE will gather in Oxford, Abingdon and Didcot to pay tribute to murdered MP Jo Cox with picnics, street parties and barbecues.

From Friday to Sunday communities across the country will be coming together to mark the first anniversary of the death of the Labour MP for Batley and Spen.

Mother-of-two Mrs Cox, 41, was killed on June 16 last year by far-right terrorist Thomas Mair in Birstall, West Yorkshire, as she was about to hold a constituency surgery.

Mair was later found guilty of murder and jailed for life.

At the weekend there will be more than 100,000 events across the country for the Great Get Together as people gather to honour Mrs Cox's view that people have 'more in common than that which divides us'.

Mrs Cox worked for Cowley-based charity Oxfam from 2001 to 2009 and former colleagues spoke of their shock when she was killed.

One of the Great Get Together events is being held at St Ethelwold's House in Abingdon on Sunday from noon to 3pm, while another is being held the same day on Hogacre Common eco park off Whitehouse Road, South Oxford, from 1pm to 4pm.

Mum-of-two Emma Beacham, a friend of Mrs Cox, has helped to organise the Abingdon event.

She said the MP had a 'great sense of community, and believed passionately in bringing people together'.

Ms Beacham added: "The aim of the Great Get Together is to bring people together, and celebrate what we have in common.

"Jo had a great sense of community, and loved a party, so it's a great way to honour her memory. "We’re celebrating our diverse British culture with a world music, world food theme.

"There will be performances from the John Mason Whats up Folk! band, the Oxfam Choir and the Seagreen singers, a recorder duet plus others.

"We will be inside if its wet – all are welcome to come along.

"Bring your families and friends, your favourite dish from around the world to share and a picnic blanket and relax and enjoy the event.

"We will also be hosting monthly Communi-tea Drop Ins at St Ethelwold's from 10am to noon on the second Saturday of the month – another opportunity to connect with others in Abingdon."

Ms Beacham set up the MoreInCommon group in Abingdon, which aims to bring people together in the local community so that she could do something positive in Mrs Cox's memory.

Residents of the Greenway estate off Park Road in Didcot will gather on the green on Sunday from 11.30am for a picnic lunch.

Mum-of-one Petrina Benbelaid said: "It's a good opportunity to get people together in the community on our new estate."

Visit greatgettogether.org