About 12,000 football fans are due to get involved in what is believed to be the biggest ever anti-racism event at a British stadium.

Leicester City is holding Foxes Against Racism Day at Filbert Street on Saturday, with various events aimed at demonstrating the club's commitment to fighting racism.

It hopes all home fans will hold up anti-racist posters which it will hand out just before kick-off against Charlton Athletic.

City players will be wearing Foxes Against Racism shirts during warm-up, and thousands of balloons will be released.

John Williams, chair of Leicester's Foxes Against Racism taskforce, said: "We're collectively doing something that sends out a strong symbolic message."

The day comes a week after a survey reported that 27% of all FA Premier League fans had witnessed racism aimed at players last season.

Mr Williams told BBC News racism was clearly still a problem in football.

"It's not quite as overt as it was in the 1970s and 1980s - we don't routinely get the racist chanting that was a feature of those times - but it clearly is a feature of the sport.

"There is a problem at Leicester, although Leicester fans tend to respond quite strongly now to racism, because of our campaign. We can't be relaxed about it, we need to deal with it when it occurs.

"This message is about saying we want to deal with racism, but it's also designed to be a message of inclusion - to say to our local minority communities 'you can be a fan here, because we won't tolerate behaviour that makes you feel uncomfortable'."

He said he believed all football clubs had a responsibility to tackle racism.

"Football clubs can't hide behind the view racism is a problem which occurs somewhere else.

"Clearly, racism is a problem in the wider society, but football clubs have responsibilities, they ought to demand certain kinds of standards from their supporters.

"But perhaps more important than that, they ought to demonstrate to the local community that they themselves have the right kind of policies.

"Not just in terms of the kind of things that we're putting on today, but also in terms of employment policies, of being an organisation which understands the problem and is open to people from all sections of the community."

Charlton supporters have also been encouraged to show their support for the day.

Fans from London will be arriving with balloons and banners - and instructions to dress only in red.