SCOTS of all denominations will be able to welcome the dawning of the new millennium with a National Church Service for Scotland, the Government announced yesterday.

The event, which is exactly 500 days away, will be held in St Giles Cathedral, Edinburgh, on Sunday, January 2, 2000.

An English service is expected to take place in St Paul's Cathedral and a Welsh service will be held in the Cardiff Baptist Tabernacle. A final decision about the location of the Northern Ireland service is yet to be taken.

Scottish Secretary Donald Dewar said: ''Preparations to celebrate the millennium in many different ways are under way in Scotland as in the rest of the UK.

''But the millennium is not just about secular celebrations. It is also an important Christian anniversary. I am therefore pleased to announce that a millennium church service will take place in St Giles Cathedral to coincide with national services in the other three countries of the United Kingdom.''

There has been unanimous support for the proposed Scottish service from the churches represented by Action of Churches Together in Scotland (ACTS) and a steering group convened by the Council of Churches for Britain and Ireland will oversee the whole event.

ACTS Associate Secretary Rev. Rodney Mattews said: ''The original suggestion was that there would be one service in London, but since we are moving into times of devolution it made more sense if there were national services in each of the four parts of the UK.''

The event will be fully ecumenical and multi-cultural, and will reflect the diversity of Scottish life.

Mr Dewar added: ''I hope leaders of all faith communities represented in Scotland will be present. I am also determined a way can be found to encourage people from all walks of life to attend.

''I know these will be moving and hopefully joyous occasions and they will be broadcast live across the nation so people who are unable to attend the service will be able to share the experience and celebrate the new millennium.''

A spokeswoman for the Church of Scotland said the Moderator had given his support to the service, adding: ''The chosen venue holds a distinctive place in the religious history of Scotland and in the spiritual life of the nation over many centuries.''

The Scottish Office said the Queen was aware of the services and members of the royal family will decide whether to attend when they consider their diaries for 2000.

Meanwhile, Millennium Dome project leaders announced yesterday that designs for a section dedicated to religion will have to be scrapped if no sponsor can be found.

The Spirit Zone has been unsuccessful in attracting #12m, making it the most difficult part of the dome to finance. Charities and insurance companies with religious links have been approached, along with the Lambeth Group, set up by the Government to look at religious matters connected with the millennium.

A spokesman for the New Millennium Experience Company (NMEC) said it was determined to find a backer, but added: ''If we do not get a sponsor the design would have to change. We would find a way of exploring religion, which we are committed to doing, without building this beautiful structure.''

The Spirit Zone was designed by London-based Czech-born architect Eva Jiricna, and includes a huge pyramid with a calm central space. It is surrounded by an exhibition of a pilgrim's progress of the history of religion.

A total of #100m has now been raised in sponsorship money for the dome's 14 zones which are expected to create around 5000 jobs in the opening year. Two thousand people will be directly employed by NMEC while another 3000 will work for contractors, mainly in catering, retail or security.

Presenting the NMEC's corporate plan, managing director Liam Kane insisted he had not given up hope of getting sponsorship. ''I say a prayer every night,'' he said.