Wootton Bassett will be officially re-named with the prefix "Royal" later by the Princess Royal.
The Wiltshire town will be granted Letters Patent in honour of its role in the repatriation of British military personnel killed in war.Princess Anne will be received by the Lord Lieutenant, John Bush, before touring an exhibition and watching a parade through the town.
Up to 20,000 people are expected to attend the re-naming ceremony.
Wootton Bassett gained worldwide fame as its residents stood in quiet respect for fallen servicemen whose bodies were driven through the town.
The decision to rename it Royal Wootton Bassett was taken by the Queen following a petition from the Prime Minister David Cameron.
'Special day' Sunday's ceremony will be attended by the Chief of the General Staff, Sir Peter Wall, and the Band of Her Majesty's Royal Marines, Collingwood, will march to a piece of music entitled Wootton Bassett, written by Capt Pete Curtis, a Royal Marines director of music.
Weather permitting, there will be flypasts during the day by a Globemaster, a Hercules and a Vulcan bomber.
Johnathan Bourne, clerk to Wootton Bassett Town Council, said: "I hope that many people will come to share this significant event for the town.
"A lot of hard work has gone into making this a really special day for the people of Wootton Bassett and I hope everyone enjoys it."
The first repatriation service took place in Wootton Bassett in April 2007 when the bodies of military personnel began arriving at the nearby RAF base at Lyneham.
Since then thousands of people have turned out to pay their respects to servicemen killed in conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The last cortege passed through the town in August, after which RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire became the landing site for planes returning from conflict zones.
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