The Edinburgh Military Tattoo is a show given by military bands and display teams. It takes place in the Scottish capital Edinburgh annually, at the same time as the Edinburgh Festival. The Tattoo began in 1950 with just 8 items in the programme.

The word "tattoo" comes from the last order and closing time shouts in Dutch, or horn signals, meaning "Doe den tap toe", or just "tap toe", heard across The Netherlands in the 18th and 19th Century, and which means "turn off the taps".

Each year, on average, just over 200,000 people see the Tattoo live at Edinburgh Castle, and a further 100 million see the event on television. Of those that see the Tattoo live, 30% of the audience are from Scotland, 35% from the rest of the United Kingdom and 35% from overseas.

International military regiments and even African tribes have performed at the Tattoo over the years. The first regiment from outside the UK to take part was the Band of the Royal Netherlands Grenadiers in 1952. So far, over 30 countries have been represented at the Tattoo.

The Tattoo is run for charitable causes and over the years has gifted over UK£5 million to military and civilian charities and organisations. However, the greater benefit has been that it has, by independent count, generated an additional £72 million for the Scottish economy.

See also

• parade
• tattoo

External link

• Edinburgh Military Tattoo website