EDINBURGH ROYAL MILITARY TATTOO
The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo is an annual series of Military tattoos performed by British Armed Forces, Commonwealth and International military bands and display teams in the Scottish capital Edinburgh. The event takes place annually throughout August, as part of the wider Edinburgh Festival (a collective name for many independent festivals and events in Edinburgh in August).
>> Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo
Now, on average, just over 217,000 people see the Tattoo live on the esplanade of Edinburgh Castle each year, and it has sold out in advance for the last decade. 30% of the audience are from Scotland and 35% from the rest of the United Kingdom. The remaining 35% of the audience consists of 70,000 visitors from overseas. Only the Edinburgh Festival Fringe is a bigger part of the Edinburgh Festival, although that consists of over 2000 productions staged across 247 venues.
The current temporary Grandstands on the castle esplanade were first used in 1975 and have a capacity of 8600. New £16 million spectator stands and corporate hospitality boxes are planned to be in place by 2011. The new temporary stands will reduce the time taken to erect and dismantle them to one month, compared to the current six months, allowing the esplanade to host events at other times of the year.
The Tattoo is performed every weekday evening and twice on Saturdays throughout August and has never been cancelled due to inclement weather. The second Saturday night performance includes a Fireworks display, although each performance uses Pyrotechnics and since 2005 has also incorporated a Son et lumière element projected onto the façade of the Castle.
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