Canberra, April 25 (BUS): Large crowds gathered in Australia on Monday to honor the war dead on Anzac Day largely free from pandemic restrictions for the first time since 2019.
Australia and New Zealand celebrate Anzac Day every April 25 – the date in 1915 when the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps landed in Turkey in an ill-fated campaign that marked the soldiers’ first combat of World War I.
Monday was the first memorial for the victims of all wars since the two countries withdrew their forces from Afghanistan last year.
The dawn service in Auckland, New Zealand’s largest city, was initially planned to close to the public due to pandemic restrictions. But the Veterans Association stepped in and a smaller-than-normal audience was allowed to attend.
In Sydney, Australia’s largest, downtown Martin Place filled to capacity tens of thousands gathered for the dawn service, the Associated Press reported.
There were no restrictions on the numbers of people attending most Australian services, although some, including in the west coast city of Perth, were ticketed events to reduce crowds.
Those who were unable to attend the Perth service at Kings Park were urged to pay their respects from their lanes at dawn as Australians had done on the previous two Anzac days.
Cases of the transmissible omicron variant of the coronavirus, which were first detected in Australia in December, have peaked across the country in recent weeks.
Australia began easing epidemic restrictions late last year when 80% of adults were fully vaccinated. Australia is one of the most vaccinated populations in the world, with 93% of adults fully vaccinated.
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