Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo
Learn how you can become a part of this amazing celebration below.
It's show time this month as the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo returns for 2022! Hundreds of military bands, dancers, and musicians join together at the Edinburgh Castle Esplanade for a joyful pageant of music, color, and light. This year’s show is themed “Voices” and includes international performers from the US, Mexico, Switzerland and New Zealand.
The two-hour show runs every night excluding Sundays from August 5th to August 27th. All CIE Tours guests on tours that stop in Edinburgh on Tattoo nights get reserved seats for the spectacle. Perhaps you’ll come along in 2023! Check out the list of tours on the bottom of this page to see the more than a dozen itineraries to choose from.
Performers from over 48 countries have taken part in this global extravaganza. The name “Tattoo” derives from a seventeenth-century Dutch phrase, “Doe den tap toe”, signifying the end of the day for soldiers, which evolved into a ceremonial evening entertainment performed by military musicians.
The imposing Edinburgh Castle, perched high above the city on volcanic rock, serves as the background for the Tattoo. The castle originally was the home of king and queens, such as Queen Margaret, Mary Queen of Scots, and James VI. It evolved into a military base, and held prisoners of war. Today, this UNESCO World Heritage Site houses Scotland’s crown jewels (also called the Honours of Scotland). The crown on display was first worn for the coronation of James V’s wife in 1540, and the scepter was presented to James IV by Pope Alexander VI in 1494. The castle is also home to a rock called the Stone of Destiny, which has been used in coronation ceremonies for English and British royalty since the thirteenth century; and the National War Museum of Scotland.
Watch this video to see what it's like to be the lead piper in the Tattoo!
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