Memorial events will be held at home and abroad to mark the 25th anniversary of the Lockerbie bombing.
Senior politicians, officials, families and communities will come together tomorrow to remember the 270 people killed in the terrorist atrocity.
Services will take place in Lockerbie itself and in London, while the UK Government is sending Scotland Office minister David Mundell to a memorial ceremony in the US where most of the victims were from.
Speaking on the eve of the anniversary, law officers for Scotland said their thoughts and prayers are with the victims’ families and all those whose lives were touched by the tragic events.
Speaking on behalf of the Scottish prosecution service, Lord Advocate Frank Mulholland and Solicitor General Lesley Thomson said: “Saturday is a time to remember those who lost their lives on December 21 1988 and the impact it had on so many lives then and since that tragic night.
“On behalf of the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, our message is simple: Always remembered, never forgotten; forever in our hearts.”
The Lord Advocate will join Mr Mundell at the memorial service at Arlington National Cemetery, Washington DC.
A cairn of red sandstone, one brick for every life lost, stands at the cemetery in Virginia. The blocks came from Corsehill Quarry in Annan, Dumfriesshire.
Ms Thomson will attend the wreath-laying and memorial service at Dryfesdale Cemetery, alongside Scotland’s First Minister Alex Salmond and Lord Wallace, Advocate General for Scotland.
Scotland’s Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill will attend the evening service at Dryfesdale church.
Mr Salmond said: “The bombing of Pan Am flight 103 is a memory that remains sharp for anyone who was living in Scotland at the time. It remains the worst terrorist attack ever perpetrated in Scotland. In the atrocity, 243 passengers, 16 crew and 11 on the ground were murdered.
“On this 25-year anniversary, and as the country prepares once more to relive the harrowing events of that terrible night, it is important that we remember that the pain and suffering of the families and friends of those who died has endured since that winter night in 1988.
“As the community of Lockerbie marks the milestone, memorial events will be held in Westminster Abbey, Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia and at Syracuse University – which lost 35 students in the bombing.
“But, inevitably, a focus of the day will be on the memorial in Lockerbie and it is there that I will pay my respects and condolences on behalf of the people of Scotland.”
A service will be held at Westminster Abbey at the same time as commemorations in the US, attended by Scottish Secretary Alistair Carmichael and Scotland’s Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon.
The Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, the Right Reverend Lorna Hood, will take part in the service at Westminster Abbey.
“It is difficult to believe that 25 years have passed since that awful night when so many innocent lives were lost and a town in Scotland would be forever associated with one of the worst terrorist attacks in recent history,” she said.
“I remember so clearly the devastation of the town and the grief and sorrow of relatives who journeyed across the Atlantic to see the spot where their loved ones died.
“For weeks after, rescue workers, police, members of the forces and civilians worked tirelessly to recover as much evidence as possible from the wreckage and, to this day, live with difficult memories of that time.
“I know that for many there are unanswered questions and a continuing search for truth, but this is a time to remember the 270 innocent lives cut short and the families here in Scotland and the USA living with that loss.”
Pan Am flight 103 was on its way from London to New York when it exploded above Lockerbie, in southern Scotland, on the evening of December 21 1988, killing everyone on board and 11 people on the ground.
Speaking in the House of Commons earlier this week, Mr Mundell told MPs: “It remains the single largest loss of life ever in the United Kingdom when 270 people perished that fateful evening and I am sure that the thoughts and prayers of the whole House will be with the community and those who lost friends and family that evening.
“Much focus over the last 25 years has been on the perpetrators, but the victims, their friends, their families and the community of Lockerbie deserve our respect and admiration for the formidable way with which they have coped with 25 years of unprecedented global attention.”
Only one man, Abdelbaset al-Megrahi, was convicted of the bombing. He was found guilty in January 2001 and given a life sentence. He was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2008, leading to a pivotal decision to free him under compassionate release rules.
Mr MacAskill took that decision on August 20 the following year, sparking a row among politicians on both sides of the Atlantic.
Megrahi died in Tripoli, Libya, in May last year.
Despite the guilty verdict and Megrahi’s decision to drop a subsequent appeal against conviction, politicians, campaigners and families of victims are still dealing with the impact, with some of the British relatives considering another appeal against his conviction when they meet with lawyers in the new year.