Military Tattoo artists to perform in Australia and New Zealand

A Military Tattoo performer’s group is departing for Australia and New Zealand for the promotion of the Edinburgh extravaganza. A farewell will be given by Tourism minister Fergus Ewing from the Tattoo's Scottish contingent to musicians as they train on Friday morning. More than 250,000 spectators have paid to enjoy performances in Australia and New Zealand. Tourism minister Fergus Ewing said an event like Edinburgh's Military Tattoo gets recognition for Scotland in the world and I am sure its presence in Australia and New Zealand will act as a superb advert for our country.

He added ancestral Scots will be attracted by the performance of this national institution and will serve to support the strengthening of links between our nations because it highlights our rich array of culture and our heritage of contemporary Scotland which we want to share with the world. Tattoo's producer, Brigadier David Allfrey said we were planning since three years and we have received support from many people of Scotland and across all the collaborating countries. It is only fourth time in the Tattoo’s history it will be staged outside from its home at Edinburgh Castle.

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Dancer Ella Phillips set to perform at Edinburgh Military Tattoo

Masterton teen Ella Phillips got “the best Christmas present ever" in the form of the chance to appear in one of the most celebrated cultural festivals of the world. Ella, a spirited Highland dancer has been selected to perform in the 2016 Edinburgh Military Tattoo to be held at Westpac Stadium next month. The Tattoo which is considered one of the foremost show of Scottish dance and music and military precision, will feature about 1200 performers at its platform.

 

Ella, a year 9 student at Solway College, will be one of the youngest Highland dancers in a team of 65 performing at the Tattoo from Scotland and all ove rthe New Zealand and is the only dancer belonging to Wairarapa. It is a gruelling task to prepare for such a esteemed task with Ella working hard to bring her fitness up to scratch and mum Jenny is saving every penny for her costume and food needs.

 

Ella began to learn Highland dancing at age 6 while she was living in Australia and she started taking classes with Scoti Dance in Wellington every Saturday while returning to Wairarapa. She has participated in both New Zealand and Australian championships and performed at the annual Turakina Highland Games. But performing at the Tattoo will be her biggest challenge, so she is spending most of her holidays committing the complicated choreography to memory and doing 12-hour rehearsals ahead of opening night.

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Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo to tour overseas

Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo’s organizers are trying to arrange the tour of the festival every two year to improve its global profile and introduce new international acts to Edinburgh. The extensive visits of the world famous event are being arranged for the first time to both the Persian Gulf and China within the next five years.

The overseas visits currently planned for 2018 and 2020 respectively will take place after forthcoming visits to both New Zealand and Australia. The Tattoo’s chief executive and Edinburgh’s Lord Provost have already negotiated with the senior overseas authorities over the proposed overseas trips.

 

It is expected that cultural, heritage and trade links between Edinburgh and the cities where the event is staged will improve as well as awareness of the Tattoo in some of Scotland’s key foreign markets will be raised. The Tattoo has been attended by more than 14 million people since it first took place at Edinburgh Castle esplanade.

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Edinburgh Tattoo to display colorful show for enjoyment of people

The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo is held annually as part of Military Tattoos performed by teams of British Armed Forces, Commonwealth and International military bands on the Edinburgh Castle’s boulevard in the Scotland’s capital Edinburgh. The ceremony continues yearly throughout August as part of the wider Edinburgh Festival. The word “Tattoo” comes from the Dutch word “tap toe” meaning “Last Orders”. Its meaning is “close the (beer) tap” when translated literally. The British Army first used the term “Tap-Toe” during the war of the Austrian Succession. 

  

The British regiments adopted it and used it as a signal through playing by Corps of Drums or Pipes and Drums to inform tavern owners each night to turn off the taps of their ale kegs so that the soldiers would go to their rooms at a reasonable time. The term Tattoo was not only used to represent the evening entertainment performed by Military musicians but also described the last duty call of the day.

Just over 217,000 people come to enjoy the Tattoo live on Edinburgh Castle’s esplanade since the 1970s each year and it has been sold out for the last decade in advance. 30% of Scottish people and 35% people from rest of the United Kingdom make the audience. The remaining 35% of the audience consisting of 70,000 visitors comes from abroad. International military regiments of over 30 countries from nearly all continents and even African tribes have performed at the Tattoo over the years.

The Band of the Royal Netherlands Grenadiers was the first regiment from outside the UK to participate in 1952. The first non-military drum corps to take part was the Swiss Top Secret Drum Corps who participated at the 2003, 2006, 2009, 2012 and 2015 Tattoos. Cultural dances and items from different countries have also been included in recent years.The 2016 Edinburgh Military Tattoo performances will be held from 5-27 August on Monday to Friday at 9.00 PM and on Saturday at 7:30 and 10:30 PM while there will be no performance on Sunday.

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