Australian War Memorial director Dr Brendan Nelson expects a record breaking 50,000 people to turn out for this year's Dawn Service on the 100th anniversary of the Gallipoli landing.
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Dr Nelson, who expects 30,000 to attend the national service later that morning, said for the many people who had missed out on the ballot for a place at Anzac Cove or were unable to make the trip to Turkey the AWM was "the next most important place they want to be".
Last year's 37,000 attendance for the Canberra Dawn Service was also a record and marked a 246 per cent increase on the 15,000 who took part in the 2012 commemoration.
Dr Nelson said 25,000 people had attended the dawn service in 2013 and that 25,000 people had attended the national morning service at the AWM last year.
"These events this year for Anzac Day will extend far beyond the ACT and Southern NSW communities," he said. "This will be the national focus beyond Gallipoli itself."
Peter Eveille, the branch president of the Canberra RSL, agreed.
"It is the 100th year (since Anzac). People who have not made it to Canberra before are making the effort to do so," he said. "For example, (many) ex-service organisations are making it their anniversary and treating it as a reunion.
"In previous years they might have done that in other capital cities. I would imagine the tourist side and the accommodation side is pretty well chock-a-block."
Dr Nelson said that with many people likely to be maintaining an all night vigil, images from the Gallipoli campaign would be projected on to the front of the AWM from Friday evening.
Readings, from diaries and letters, are scheduled to begin at 4.25am with the Dawn Service, which will be broadcast live, commencing at 5.30am.
"The very first thing Australia will see is a uniformed indigenous serving navy man playing the didgeridoo from the parapet of the Australian War Memorial," Dr Nelson said.
"Peter Eveille is responsible for the conduct of the service and chief of army, General David Morrison, is to deliver the address."
The national service is to begin at about 10.15am with plans for the march to be led up Anzac Parade by a restored 18-pounder horse-drawn field gun that saw service on the Western Front.
Governor General General Sir Peter Cosgrove is to deliver the commemorative address.
"We will take a live feed from Gallipoli of the dawn service at Anzac Cove when the national service is finished."
Dr Nelson said there was no doubt that the venue could cope with the expected record numbers safely.
"If you look at last year, when there 37,000 people at the Dawn Service, there was obviously much more room out on the grounds and certainly down Anzac Parade to accommodate them."
Parking is expected to be the major issue and buses will be running from the Majura Parkway, Civic and Russell to allow people to leave their cars some distance away.
While all of the available seating, some of which is already being assembled, is allocated the AWM has come up with a novel solution.
"We will be offering fold-out cardboard seating which will be available for a gold coin donation," Dr Nelson said.
