Edinburgh Military Tattoo
The
Edinburgh Military Tattoo is a show given by
military bands and display teams in the
Scottish capital
Edinburgh. The event takes place annually, as part of the
Edinburgh Festival (a collective name for many independent festivals and events in Edinburgh in August).
The word "tattoo" originally dates from the seventeenth century when
British Army units were stationed in the
Low Countries.
Drummers from the garrison were sent out into the towns each evening to summon the soldiers to return to
barracks. The process was known as
Doe den tap toe or just
tap toe and encouraged the inn keepers to "turn off the taps", stop serving beer and send the soldiers back for the night.
The first official Tattoo began in
1950 with just 8 items in the programme.
Now, on average, just over 200,000 people see the Tattoo live on the esplanade of
Edinburgh Castle each year, and it always sells out in advance. 30% of the audience are from
Scotland and 35% from the rest of the
United Kingdom. The event is so well known in Britain, that to many people (especially older people) "The Edinburgh Tattoo" is a synonym for "The Edinburgh Festival". The remaining 35% of the audience consists of 70,000 visitors from overseas. Worldwide, a further 100 million people see the event on television.
The Tattoo is run for
charitable causes and over the years has gifted over
UK£5 million to military and civilian charities and organisations. However, the greater benefit has been that it, by independent count, generates an additional £82 million for Edinburgh's economy annually.
The official magazine of the Edinburgh Military tattoo is called Salute and distributed free to sponsors, Friends of the Tattoo and visiting performers.
International military regiments and even African tribes have performed at the Tattoo over the years. The first regiment from outside the UK to take part was the Band of the Royal Netherlands Grenadiers in
1952. So far, over 30 countries have been represented at the Tattoo.
The highlight is the massed
pipes and drums, provided by regiments of the
British Army and regiments from around the world with Scottish connections. Each evening ends with a floodlit lone piper playing from the Castle walls.
The
2005 Tattoo saw the largest gathering of pipes and drums in the event's history, including the pipes and drums of all six regular infantry regiments of the
Scottish Division:
*
Royal Scots (The Royal Regiment)*
Royal Highland Fusiliers (Princess Margaret's Own Glasgow and Ayrshire Regiment)*
King's Own Scottish Borderers*
Black Watch (Royal Highland Regiment)*
The Highlanders (Seaforth, Gordons and Camerons)*
Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders (Princess Louise's)In addition, there were also the pipes and drums of the
Scots Guards,
Irish Guards,
Royal Gurkha Rifles,
South African Irish Regiment,
Scottish Officers Training Corps, the
Rats of Tobruk and the
City of Wellington pipe band.
Producers of the Edinburgh Tattoo have included:
*Lt Col George Malcolm of Poltalloch â€" Produced a pageant on the Castle Esplanade in 1947 entitled "The King's Men" and produced the first Edinburgh Tattoo in 1950.
*Brigadier Alistair MacLean of Pennycross â€" Director of the Tattoo from 1950, he took over as the Producer in 1953.
*Brigadier Jack Sanderson â€" Former
Scots Guards officer, he took over in 1968.
*Lt Col Lesley Dow â€" Served with the
Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) and became producer in 1976.
*Major Michael Parker â€" Producer of the
Royal Tournament (1974-99), the Berlin Tattoo as well as the VE & VJ Day commemorations in 1995. Producer of the Tattoo from 1992-4
*Brigadier Melville Jameson â€" Former commander of
51st Highland Brigade and the current producer of the Edinburgh Tattoo.
Source: Roddy Martine â€" Edinburgh Military Tattoo 2001*
Military Tattoo*
Nova Scotia International Tattoo*
Parade*
Tattoo*
Edinburgh Military Tattoo website
