VJ Day celebrations in Scotland move online due to coronavirus

The Red Arrows will perform a flypast of Edinburgh

A Red Arrows flypast will be one of the only physical events marking VJ Day in Scotland this year due to coronavirus.

VJ Day saw the end of the conflict in Asia and brought the Second World War to a close in 1945.

An online concert and service of remembrance will lead the commemoration on Saturday.

Among the other events planned is a message from First Minster Nicola Sturgeon thanking the Second World War generation, and a two-minute silence.

The Red Arrows will perform a flypast of Edinburgh and Legion Scotland will issue medallions in honour of those who made a contribution to the war effort.

Veterans minister Graeme Dey said the day will be a time for the nation to come together to remember the sacrifices "which ensured the peace and freedoms we enjoy today".

Mr Dey said: "The whole country owes our current and ex-service personnel an immense debt of gratitude for their service and sacrifice."

Claire Armstrong, chief executive of Legion Scotland, said: "This campaign saw some of the fiercest fighting of the Second World War and in some of the harshest conditions, with many thousands of British and Commonwealth forces and civilians being taken as prisoners of war, enduring terrible mental and physical trauma."

Dr Armstrong added that VJ Day would pay tribute not only to the British forces, but the Allied and Commonwealth forces, "without whom the defeat of Japan would not have been possible".