An anti-fracking protest in Manchester this weekend could be the largest ever staged in Britain, organisers have said.

Protesters from around the country will descend on the city centre on Saturday to oppose the controversial drilling and shale gas extraction technique.

The event will feature speeches from campaigner Bianca Jagger, former wife of Rolling Stone Mick Jagger, as well as Greater Manchester’s Labour mayoral candidate Andy Burnham.

Former Hacienda DJ Dave Haslam will also perform at the event.

The event comes after the government overruled Lancashire County Council’s original decision to stop Cuadrilla fracking at its site in Little Plumpton.

Anti-fracking activist Tina Louise Rothery, one of the so called Lancashire Nanas who have campaigned against fracking in the area, will also speak.

Objectors fear the controversial technique could be used in Greater Manchester after exploration contracts were awarded across areas of Trafford, Rochdale, Salford, Bury, Bolton and Wigan earlier this year.

However planning permission would need to be granted before any fracking gets underway.

Campaigners will gather in Piccadilly Gardens at 11am, before marching through the city centre.

At about noon, they will then walk down Portland Street, then onto Chepstow Street past the Peveril of the Peak, then to Great Bridgewater Street and to Liverpool Road.

Then at about 1pm they will arrive at Castlefield Arena, where Jagger and Burnham will give speeches alongside former climate change diplomat John Ashton, and Halsam will perform a DJ set.

Martin Porter, from organisers Frack Free Greater Manchester, said he hopes the weather will hold off to encourage as many people as possible to attend.

He says the largest previous fracking related rally was at Barton Moss in March 2014, which featured about 2,000 campaigners, and that he hopes Saturday’s event will top that.

He said: “Campaigners from Lancashire and Yorkshire, who face the prospect of fracking starting next year, will be travelling to the event and there are coaches from London, Glastonbury and elsewhere.

“The rally will start in Piccadilly Gardens at 11am and then the march to Castlefield will begin at about midday, arriving at Castlefield arena for speeches and music at about 1pm.

“Everyone is welcome and invited to bring banner, costumes, musical instruments and everything else to make this a huge, fun, family day out that also sends the message loud and clear to the government that the ‘bleak and desolate north’ will not be fracked.”