President John Sperring said the sub-branch made the difficult call after a review of the health risks in holding any form of gathering during the present lockdown.

Mr Sperring said regrettably there was no way the annual VP (Victory in the Pacific) Day event that was planned at City Diggers Club on August 15 could be conducted safely and he was now concerned about Remembrance Day on November 11.

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He said with community infection rates not decreasing and possibly increasing following the recent so-called "freedom protests" in Sydney and Wollongong, it was just not possible to proceed.

Mr Sperring said he was not sure if the rally had added to the number of COVID cases, but it hadn't helped Greater Sydney come out of lockdown sooner. And he hoped it hadn't infected more people or extended the lockdown.

When the current NSW Health Public Health Orders were due to end on July 31 there was still hope for VP Day. But now it had been extended until at least the end of August no celebration to mark the 76th anniversary of the end of World War II, with the surrender of Imperial Japan, was possible.

"We were planning to scale it down so the number of people who would have been able to attend inside the club was going to change," he said.

The ceremony has traditionally been held at the Wollongong Cenotaph but when COVID cases started to rise in June the sub-branch came up with an alternative plan so a large number of people from the community didn't attend and breach COVID restrictions.

However, when the club was required to close at the start of the lockdown the sub-branch had to make the tough call to cancel.

Mr Sperring said over the years World War II and Korean War veterans had attended the VP Day event.

He said it was sad they couldn't do so this year because the number of veterans was dwindling and soon there wouldn't be any left.

"Sadly in Wollongong we have lost a few Australian veterans and British veterans who migrated here after World War II, since we have gone into COVID restrictions," he said.

"We still have some and it is sad they can't attend the ceremony we traditionally hold at the cenotaph."

Wollongong Lord Mayor Gordon Bradbery, Member for Cunningham Sharon Bird and Member for Wollongong Paul Scully also attend the annual event but won't be able to this year.

Mr Sperring has also been advised that the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Service set down for the late afternoon on August 15 at Flagstaff Hill has also been cancelled. And he is now concerned about other important events.

"I think the lockdown will go longer than the end of August regrettably," he said.

"Let's hope it doesn't go into the next couple of months, otherwise it starts to impact on our Remembrance Day plans on November 11."

Mr Sperring hopes the new vaccination hub opening soon in the former David Jones site in Crown Street Mall will help Wollongong come out of lockdown sooner so important occasions such as Remembrance Day and Anzac Day can be held in the traditional manner.

But it won't be soon enough to help VP Day events being held this month.

He said even though commemorative services cannot be held on August 15 to honour the sacrifice of those men and women who served in Australia and overseas, it was still important to take some time out individually to reflect on what they did and thank them for their service to Australia.

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