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What is the day about?

Wear Red Day is a “Day of Action” started by the anti racism educational charity, Show Racism the Red Card.

Show Racism the Red Card’s mission is to empower people to challenge racist attitudes and champion anti racism by raising awareness about the importance of role models in communities, workplaces and sport and physical activity organisations.

Organisations who take part in this event can do so in many ways, including wearing red to show your support for the campaign, using your platform to promote anti racism education and much more. See the How you can take part section for ideas on how your workplace can empower your team’s anti racism role models to achieve Show Racism the Red Card’s mission.

When does the day take place?

Wear Red Day 2025 will be taking place on Friday 17 October.

Why was this event created?

Shaka Hislop, a former Newcastle United goalkeeper and Honorary President of Show Racism the Red Card, played a key part in the founding of the charity and the creation of Wear Red Day.

During the 1990s, Shaka Hislop was at a petrol station near St. James’ Park with his wife and daughter, filling his car with petrol. It was a normal day for him and his family until a group of young people approached him and started shouting racial abuse at him. Their attitude towards Shaka was negative until they recognised him as the Newcastle United Goalkeeper. As soon as the youths realised that Shaka was a celebrity, they asked him for his autograph.

Shaka recalled feeling disrespected by this behaviour at the time of the incident and rightfully felt concerned about the safety of his wife and daughter. It was a very unpleasant experience for him. However, this event also made him realise that he could use his influence as a football player to champion anti racism education.

Racism and discrimination in sport, and our wider society, is still a problem today. For example, Kick It Out received 1,332 reports in the 2023/24 season, the highest number ever received by the anti-discrimination and inclusion sporting charity in a single season.

While Kick It Out’s report shows that sport fans are becoming less tolerant of discriminatory abuse, it is important for everyone to do their part in challenging racist attitudes to help prevent these incidents from happening in the first place. See the How to recognise Wear Red Day in the workplace section for ideas on how your organisation can take part and support the work of anti racism role models.

Facts you should know

Here are a few quick Wear Red Day facts to know:

  • The slogan for the event is: Change Hearts, Change Minds, Change Lives.
  • 7,000 people took part in 2014. In 2024, 710,000 participants took part.
  • The official social media hashtag for Wear Red Day is #WRD25 if your organisation would like to take part in the event online.
  • Show Racism the Red Card is selling a limited edition red t shirt to celebrate.
  • Show Racism the Red Card uses resources such as films, education packs, posters and magazines for its anti racism education projects. For example, they produced “A Safe Place”, a DVD that raises awareness about the experiences of asylum seekers and refugees. It also discusses Islamophobia and anti Muslim hatred. You can watch a preview of the DVD on the Show Racism the Red Card Card YouTube channel.

How to celebrate this event in the workplace or in a sport and physical activity organisation

There are many ways to recognise Wear Red Day at work, whether your workplace is a sport or physical activity organisation or not, including:

  • Hosting anti racism training. We can provide in-house training tailored to your colleagues’ needs.
  • Connecting with your organisation’s anti racism staff network and gathering feedback on how to take part in the campaign.
  • Becoming an Inclusive Sport member. Inclusive Sport is Inclusive Employers’ dedicated offer for the sport and physical activity sector, designed to support organisations of all sizes at any stage of their journey toward becoming inclusive and welcoming to everyone.
  • Reading and sharing Inclusive Employers’ blog How allies can support antiracist cultures in sport.
  • Listening to and sharing Inclusive Employers’ podcast about Anti racism in the UK.
  • Wearing red to show your support for the campaign on Friday 17 October 2025.

Next steps to creating anti racist organisations

Taking part in Wear Red Day can be an important step in creating and supporting anti racist cultures and can be a launching point for more anti racist initiatives in the workplace. If you would like to explore the different ways your organisation can change hearts, change minds and change lives, complete the form below and a member of our team will contact you:


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