Edinburgh Military Tattoo
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The Edinburgh Military Tattoo is a show given by military bands and display teams in the Scottish capital Edinburgh. The event takes place annually, at the same time as the Edinburgh Festival. The first official Tattoo began in 1950 with just 8 items in the programme.
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.
Each year, on average, just over 200,000 people see the Tattoo live at Edinburgh Castle, and a further 100 million see the event on television. Of those that see the Tattoo live, 30% of the audience are from Scotland, 35% from the rest of the United Kingdom and 35% from overseas.
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 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.
Although there are several different displays, the highlight is the massed pipes and drums, provided by regiments of the British Army and regiments from around the world with Scottish connections. 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)
The official magazine of the Edinburgh Military tattoo is called Salute and distributed free to sponsors, Friends of the Tattoo and visiting performers.
Producers of the Edinburgh Tattoo have included:
- Lt Col George Malcolm of Poltalloch – 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 – Director of the Tattoo from 1950, he took over as the Producer in 1953.
- Brigadier Jack Sanderson – Former Scots Guards officer, he took over in 1968.
- Lt Col Lesley Dow – Served with the Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) and became producer in 1976.
- Major Michael Parker – 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 – Former commander of 51st Highland Brigade and the current producer of the Edinburgh Tattoo.
See also
External links
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