The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo 2024 is set to be a spectacular event, with international dancers and musicians joining members of the British Armed Forces on the Edinburgh Castle Esplanade, according to a press release.
This year’s show, running from 2 to 23 August, will feature 800 performers from around the world, including the United States, Australia, Canada, India, and Switzerland.
The theme, “Journeys,” celebrates connections through music, dance, culture, and military traditions.
The Citadel Regimental Band and Pipes from South Carolina, one of the world’s leading military bands, will join the Massed Pipes and Drums. The Massed Pipes and Drums comprises over 230 pipers and drummers, including units from the 1st Battalion Irish Guards, 1st Battalion Scots Guards, The Royal Gurkha Rifles, and the specially formed Combined Pipes and Drums of the Royal Tank Regiment and the Scottish and North Irish Yeomanry.
The Scottish and North Irish Yeomanry, a light cavalry regiment using the Jackal light armoured vehicle, and the Royal Tank Regiment, the world’s oldest tank unit, will both be represented. The latter’s arsenal includes the Challenger 2 Main Battle Tank, the Warrior Infantry Fighting Vehicle, and the Bulldog 2 Armoured Personnel Carrier.
The Tattoo will open with a fanfare by 21 Royal Navy trumpeters, followed by the Massed Pipes and Drums crossing the historic drawbridge. Performances will include the Majesticks Drum Corps from Switzerland, known for precision drill, and Teamwork Arts India, featuring the Rajasthani Bagpiper, the Bhangra Queens, and the Bollywood Ensemble.
The event is expected to attract over 230,000 spectators, with global television broadcasts reaching millions more.
Each night’s performance will conclude with a finale by The Massed Bands of His Majesty’s Royal Marines and the Lone Piper’s rendition of “Guth a’ Phiobaire,” composed by Major Stevie Small MBE.
The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo, which began in 1950, has showcased acts from over 50 countries across six continents. Her Royal Highness Princess Anne has been the event’s Patron since 2006, and it received its Royal title from the late Queen Elizabeth II in 2010.
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Edinburgh tattoo has turned into a musical!!! which is not what it’s about, I went to see the tattoo some 40 years ago they had motorbikes doing stunts , assembling canon/ guns in a set time and military parades all to do with the military, no singing or dancing very disappointed.
Ross w