The widower and two young children of tragic MP Jo Cox will join her friends, colleagues and high-profile campaigners today as communities around the world gather to celebrate what would have been her 42nd birthday.

Education campaigner Malala Yousafzai will be among the guest speakers at an hour-long rally in London's Trafalgar Square from 4pm, at which the late Labour politician's husband, Brendan, and their children - three-year-old daughter Lejla and son Cuillin, five - will attend.

Organisers said the events, being held in a variety of locations, will be a tribute to Ms Cox's "love, energy, passion, flair, Yorkshire heritage and belief in the humanity of every person in every place".

Other events will be held in several locations, including in Jo's hometown of Batley where her parents and sister will be present, organisers said.

People will gather at 4pm in Batley Market Square "to celebrate Jo's warmth, love, energy, passion, flair, Yorkshire heritage, and belief in the humanity of every person in every place, from Batley and Spen to Aleppo and Darayya", organisers said.

More than 400 people are expected to be at the event in her home town.

International events will also take place in Beirut, Brussels, Melbourne, Nairobi, New York, and Washington DC.

A similar tribute is expected to be held at Glastonbury's Park Stage, while a charity album of music recorded by bands including Coldplay and Muse at the festival this weekend will be released in Ms Cox's honour.

A moment of silence will be observed at 4.25pm in London and around the world.

On the eve of the events, Mr Cox said the public reaction to his wife's death had been "off the scale" and had made a "really important contribution" to the healing process for the couple's two children. It comes as a charity appeal in Ms Cox's memory raised more than £1 million in three days.

Mr Cox indicated that he would like to see a female MP take Mrs Cox's former Batley and Spen seat in West Yorkshire, suggesting that would be "lovely symbolism".

Expressing his thanks for the "incredible" public support following her death, he said: "The two things that I've been very focused on is how do we support and protect the children, and how do we make sure that something good comes out of this.

"And what the public support and outpouring of love around this does, is it also helps the children see that what they're feeling and other people are feeling, that the grief that they feel, isn't abnormal, that they feel it more acutely and more painfully and more personally, but that actually their mother was someone who was loved by lots of people and that therefore, it's okay to be upset and it's okay for them to cry and to be sad about it."

The MP died after being shot and stabbed in an attack in Birstall near Leeds on Thursday last week. Tommy Mair, 52, has been remanded in custody after being charged with her murder.

Harriet Harman called on people to "unite against the hate" that killed the MP.

Speaking on the EU referendum campaign trail in Bristol alongside Prime Minister David Cameron, the former acting Labour leader said: "Jo believed in a better world and fought for it every day of her life with an energy and an enthusiasm which would have exhausted most people.

"What she would want now is for her two young children to be bathed in love and for us to unite against the hate that killed her."