Edinburgh Military Tattoo celebrates 70th anniversary with a virtual trip down memory lane

Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo - March Off

WITH the Castle Esplanade devoid of seating this year and the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo another victim of the global pandemic, the world famous event has turned to its social media channels to pay homage to audiences, performers and staff.

Tattoo CEO Buster Howes, says, “I’m immensely proud to have recently taken the reigns of this iconic show. The audiences we welcome year on year are hugely important to us and we want to acknowledge the continued support on what should have been the opening night of our 70th anniversary show. Despite the very difficult circumstances, we’re working hard to find imaginative and creative ways to bring you flavours of the show that you know and love.

“Throughout August we will be delving into our archives to share some of our best moments, speaking to the people who make this amazing show what it is, and dusting off our instruments and dancing shoes to celebrate in the only way we know how – watch this space.”

Former Senior Drum Major Mick Hay can be seen on the Castle Esplanade, taking his position where the legendary massed pipes and drums would have been led out to kick start the 2020 70th anniversary show.

After 70 years, the Tattoo has grown from having a largely local audience of 100,000, to seating 220,000. From humble beginnings - inspired by a simple show called Something About a Soldier performed in 1949 at the Ross Bandstand - Lieutenant Colonel George Malcolm, the first producer of the Tattoo brought the Army's contribution to the Edinburgh International Festival to life.

From that modest event in a park to today’s globally recognised spectacular, the mixed military and cultural cast is now drawn from far and wide

.Follow the Tattoo’s online 70th celebrations throughout August at https://www.edintattoo.co.uk/

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