On Anzac Day 2020, the streets will be empty across Australia as coronavirus restrictions are in force.
There will be no veterans marching, no dawn services, no parades… and this may not necessarily be a bad thing bearing in mind that in recent years, the event has become a scripted multimedia affair where crowds are told how to think and feel about their history.
This year will be a more contemplative commemoration, and while pandemonium will be put aside, we will be able to personally reflect on how war has impacted our families and our society.
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We will light candles and shine torches on our balconies and driveways at 6am and will greet our neighbours from affair. And we’ll watch the usual services livestreamed.
The memorialisation of Anzac Day which has involved travelling to sites at Gallipoli and France will ot take place and there will be less space in the media to devote to Anzac Day bearing in mind the fact that COVID-19 is dominating our thoughts.
And while familiar public rituals will be missing, personal reflection will not.
Tomorrow we wish you an Anzac Day to remember.
Lest We Forget!
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