Anzac Day 2022:Everything you need to know

This year’s Anzac Day will mark the first unrestricted marches,dawn services and reunions since the start of the pandemic. To make up for the past two years of muted events,punters will have two extra days to polish their two-up technique as the game is legalised for the entire long weekend.

It’s also the first Anzac Day since the withdrawal of Australian forces from Afghanistan. President of the RSL NSW,Ray James,invited those who served in the conflict to join him “in a place of prominence” in the Sydney Anzac Day march.

“Anzac Day not only acknowledges the service and sacrifice of our oldest veterans throughout history,but it’s also a day to support our youngest veterans and remember the 20-year conflict in the Middle East;the longest in Australia’s military history,” he said.

As the public holiday falls on a Monday this year,here’s a guide to Anzac Day opening hours,what’s closed for the morning and where Sydney dawn service events are taking place.

Sydney CBD dawn service and march

The official NSW Anzac Dawn Service will take place at theCenotaph in Martin Place from 4.30am.

Members of the public are invited to access two standing areas via Pitt Street or George Street. Tickets are not required this year but those who have disabilities or limited mobility cancontact organisers to reserve seating. The service will be livestreamed on theNSW government website and on the ABC.

The Sydney Anzac Day march up Elizabeth Street will begin at Martin Place at 9am. The NSW RSL said it expects 12,000 to 15,000 veterans and their descendants to join the march after COVID-19 kept numbers to about 4000 last year.

Major roads will be closed in the Sydney CBD from 2am to 4pm. Free public transport will continue for all passengers on the Opal network until 4am on Tuesday.

Greater Sydney dawn services

About 10,000 people are expected to gather atCoogee Beach at dawn,said Randwick Mayor Dylan Parker,as Anzac Day services return to full capacity. Before the pandemic,community engagement with Anzac Day had increased each year.

“With so much global instability and uncertainty,people are drawn to constants like Anzac Day to be reminded of the sacrifice and service of Australians who gave us the freedom we have today,” Parker said.

The day will include a fly-past of wartime aircraft operated by the Historical Aircraft Restoration Society,including a Dakota C-47,a Grumman S-2G Tracker and a De Havilland DHC-4 Caribou cargo plane,which will soar over Coogee at 10am.

There will also be dawn services atCronullaPark at 5.30am and at Waverley Cemetery inBronte at 5am.Balmain will hold a service in Loyalty Square at 6am,Mosman’s service on Best Avenue begins at 5.30am andNorth Sydney War Memorial’s service begins at 5.45am.

On the northern beaches,dawn services will be held atBalgowlah RSL Memorial Club,Whale Beach and War Veterans VillageNarrabeenat 6am and atForestville RSL andPittwaterRSL at 5.30am.

Other ceremonies include thePenrith dawn service at Memory Park and theParramatta service at Prince Alfred Square,both starting at 4.30am. There will be anEppingdawn service at Forest Park at 6am.Campbelltown RSL will hold a dawn service at Mawson Park at 5.30am and a march will start at 8.30am.

Find moreservices and marches in NSW.

Retail

Anzac Day is a restricted trading day,so most Coles,Woolworths and Aldi stores and bottle shops will not open until 1pm. Many IGA stores will remain open,but hours may differ. Check with your local store for details.

Shopping centres – including major Westfield centres in the CBD,Parramatta,Chatswood,Miranda and Brookvale,plus Macquarie Centre and World Square – will also be closed until 1pm.

Chemists,fruit and vegetable shops and petrol stations can remain open.

Most banks will be closed all day.

Triple the two-up

Punters can get their coin-flipping game on early this year as two-up is legalised across the full Anzac Day long weekend from April 23 to 25. The traditional gambling game,played in the trenches of World War I,is usually only allowed on Anzac Day.

Venues where you can play two-up in Sydney include The Dolphin,which claims the largest two-up ring in Surry Hills,The Australian Heritage Hotel at The Rocks,The Courthouse Hotel in Newtown,Dick’s Hotel in Balmain,Rag and Famish in North Sydney,Kings Cross Hotel and Manly Wharf Bar.

Where can you get a PCR test on Anzac Day?

Many COVID-19 testing centres on Anzac Day will be closed. These Sydney testing sites will be open as normal or with reduced hours.

A full list of testing sites can be foundhere.

The Morning Edition newsletter is our guide to the day’s most important and interesting stories,analysis and insights.Sign up here.