The far-right activist Tommy Robinson led a carol concert to “put the Christ back into Christmas” on Saturday in an event that had a huge drop-off in attendance from his last rally in London.

The Metropolitan police said about 1,000 people attended the event at its peak, in stark contrast to the estimated 110,000 who turned up to Robinson’s “unite the kingdom” rally in September.

Saturday’s event was kept away from a counter-protest organised by Stand Up to Racism in central London.

Stand Up to Racism wrote on X: “Robinson’s event got nowhere near the big numbers he predicted today. While there is absolutely no room for complacency, it shows that #TommyRobinson’s momentum can be broken.

“Now let’s go all out to build a massive #Together against the far right demo on Saturday 28 March.”

Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, told the crowd he used to “hate the church” but met a pastor in prison who taught him about the Bible.

Hymn sheets were handed out to the crowd and a woman walked around selling St George’s flags and Santa hats.

Before the event, the Church of England released a video on its YouTube channel in which people ranging from the archbishop of York to schoolchildren spoke about the “joy, love and hope” of Christmas.

The message is “a simple reminder that Christmas belongs to all of us, and everyone is welcome to celebrate”, the Church of England said.

Several leaders spoke out against the dangers of Christian nationalism and the appropriation of Christian symbols to bolster the anti-migrant views of Robinson and his supporters.

Rowan Williams, the former archbishop of Canterbury, warned of the potential “weaponisation” of events, and said the Church of England must be “absolutely clear” that the true Christian message was one of compassion and welcome to all.

Adam Slonecki, the Met commander who was in charge of the policing operation, said: “Every weekend in London is busy but that is especially the case at this time of year when the transport network, shops and public spaces will see much higher footfall.

“In that context, it is particularly important that we ensure that where groups are exercising their lawful right to protest, we use the powers available to us to ensure those protests don’t cause serious disruption to the many other people – Londoners and visitors alike – going about their lives.”