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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