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- Lest We Forget Harbour sunset tribute held in Sydney
- Millions will attend dawn services and marches on Saturday
- READ MORE: ‘Disgraceful’ attack on war memorials on the eve of Anzac Day
By KYLIE STEVENS, SENIOR BREAKING NEWS REPORTER, AUSTRALIA and AUSTRALIAN ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: | Updated:
Crowds have gathered in Sydney as millions of Aussies prepare to commemorate Anzac Day.
Thousands of Aussies of all ages gathered along the Sydney Harbour foreshore on Friday night for the annual Lest We Forget Harbour sunset tribute to remember those who lost their lives serving our nation.
A poem written more than a century ago during World War I provided a moving backdrop for the Anzac Eve event.
The Ode of Remembrance is the fourth stanza of the poem For the Fallen, penned by English poet and writer Laurence Binyon and first published in September 1914.
The ode, recited by Anzac forces to honour wartime sacrifices, has been a staple of remembrance services since 1921.
As the sun set, its memorable words ‘at the going down of the sun and in the morning, we will remember them’ rang out across the Sydney Opera House.
A full orchestra and featured artists, including Patricia ‘Little Pattie’ Amphlett and Dami Im, performed as rowboats carrying Surf Lifesaving volunteers from various clubs dotted the harbour and military ships sailed past.
Bagpipe-playing veteran Warrant Officer Andrew Iverson also performed as part of the solemn service.
Thousands gathered at the Sydney Opera House for the annual Lest We Forget Harbour sunset tribute
Rowboats carrying Surf Lifesaving volunteers dotted the harbour along with military ships
Dami Im (right) was among the artists who performed at Friday night’s sunset service
Dignitaries who laid wreaths included Defence Minister Richard Marles and former governor-general and defence force chief Sir Peter Cosgrove.
A free ticketed event, the sunset service was first held in 2025 to commemorate the 110th anniversary of the Gallipoli Landings and 80 years since the end of WWII.
It comes as NSW Premier Chris Minns defended his decision to bring in an additional Anzac Day public holiday.
NSW, the ACT, and WA have declared Anzac Day and April 27 as public holidays, resulting in a second three-day long weekend within a fortnight.
Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania and the Northern Territory will not treat the Monday as a public holiday.
‘We’ve got 11 public holidays in NSW. The other states have 13. So we’re a couple down on every other jurisdiction,’ Minns told Sunrise on Friday.
‘With Anzac Day falling on a Saturday and then a Sunday for this year and next year, we decided that we should have another public holiday.’
He added that the decision followed consultation with the NSW RSL.
Thousands attended the free ticketed event at the Sydney Opera House
The entertainment included a full orchestra and a bagpipe player
A fleet of military ships was part of the harbour tribute
Thousands of Sydneysiders attended the moving sunset service hours before dawn services across the nation
South Australians will get a second Anzac Day public holiday in 2027, when April 25 falls on a Sunday.
However, other states have no plans to follow suit.
‘It’s really important that people do keep that day as being sacrosanct,’ Queensland Premier David Crisafulli said.
Tasmanian Premier Jeremy Rockliff added: ‘What we are all united on is quite clearly the significance of Anzac Day right across the country where we remember, we reflect, and we give gratitude to all those men and women who sacrificed their lives over various conflicts across the last hundred years and more.’
Anzac Day is a day of remembrance observed in Australia and New Zealand and commemorates the anniversary of their military involvement in the Gallipoli campaign during World War I.
The day has since been expanded to honour all Australian and New Zealand military veterans who served in conflicts.
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