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).
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 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.
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. Popular visiting performers include the Swiss Top Secret Drum Corps, who performed at the 2003, 2006 and 2009 Tattoos. The Band and Drill team of His Majesty The King's Guard of the Norwegian Army has also performed at the Tattoo on eight previous occasions beginning in 1961, adopting Nils Olav, a penguin at Edinburgh Zoo, as their regimental mascot in 1972.
In addition, there are also the pipes and drums of the Scots Guards, Irish Guards, Royal Gurkha Rifles, Scottish Officers Training Corps, South African Irish Regiment, the Rats of Tobruk and the City of Wellington pipe band. The largest ever gathering of massed pipes and drums was for the 50th anniversary tattoo in 2000 when there were 15 bands on parade, including 7 of the eight Scottish regiments. Throughout the period of the Tattoo, the performers are accommodated at the city's Redford Cavalry Barracks, with the parade square used for rehearsals.
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