Anzac Day crowds are expected to be down in 2016 on the record numbers that attended last year's commemorations to mark 100 years since Australian forces landed at Gallipoli.
Thousands of Australians and New Zealanders are expected to attend hundreds of events on Monday - including dawn services, marches, ceremonies and sporting events - with many making the pilgrimage to Turkey for the annual service at the Australian Commemorative Site on Gallipoli's North Beach.
"We're certainly expecting very large crowds," Returned and Services League chief executive Sam Jackman told AAP.
"There might not be the numbers we got last year, but we're still expecting a very good turn out."
Monday marks a century since the first ever Anzac Day where big crowds across the nation and overseas gathered in 1916 to remember those who fought and died in Gallipoli.
Despite the fall in numbers, Ms Jackman said the importance of the occasion for former servicemen and women should not be downplayed.
"We will never forgot those who served in wartime whichever conflict they served in, whatever age they are," she said.
"The best thing for veterans' healing and moving on is to spend time and talk amongst themselves.
"No one really understands what they've been through as well as their mates."
The weather will not keep people away, with mild and sunny conditions expected in all the country's capitals on Monday except Brisbane and Perth, where it's likely to be damp.
© AAP 2024
