Ceremonial arrangements began on Thursday for Wollongong's Anzac Day March and commemoration ceremony to be held on April 25.
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This year marks 100 years since Australian and New Zealand soldiers stormed the Gallipoli peninsula during World War I.
To celebrate the centenary, the march will take a different route than in previous years.
Commencing at 9.30am from lower Church Street, the parade will make its way along Burelli, Kembla and Stewart streets and into WIN Stadium for the ceremony.
Chairman of the Illawarra Centenary of Anzac advisory committee and march leader, Peter Poulton, is expecting thousands to gather for the anniversary.
The stadium will be open from 9am, for those who do not want to march. Entry is free and all the amenities will be operating.
"Our loss of youth [at Gallipoli] was horrendous compared to any other nation involved," Mr Poulton said.
"Gallipoli was our first full-blown conflict, the cream of our youth were wiped out and it's fitting that we remember their sacrifices for the freedoms we enjoy today."
The ceremony will be conducted in front of the western grandstand at WIN Stadium, where crowds will be entertained by a 100-piece children's choir, the Wongawilli Bush Band, a performance of the Last Post, and other Anzac Day customs.
Council has advised Wollongong residents of the Special Event Clearways and changed traffic conditions around Church Street for the better part of the day.
Church Street, from Beach Street to Stewart Street, will be a clearway from 1am until 10.30am.
Church Street, from Beach Street to Bank Street, will be closed from 7am until 10.30am for the assembly of the march, and there will be a rolling closure across the parade route from 9.15am until the march reaches the stadium at 10am.
For those ready to begin the centenary commemoration early, an Anzac Day luncheon will be held on Thursday, April 23.
The luncheon will feature guest speaker Damien Thomlinson, a former commando who lost both his legs in 2009 when his vehicle hit a roadside bomb in Afghanistan.
The event aims to raise funds for two scholarships for descendants of Australian and New Zealand service personnel to study at the University of Wollongong.
