This is the first occasion that one of Edinburgh’s International Festival events has been awarded such a distinction.
Tattoo Chief Executive & Producer, Major General Euan Loudon, said: “We are enormously proud to receive such a prestigious honour which, as we embark on our Diamond Jubilee Year, is a wonderful endorsement for this unique national institution”.
The Royal Family has been closely connected with the Tattoo since it began in 1950. Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth was present that year when Sir Thomas Beecham conducted the Massed Bands during the Finale sequence. Then, in 2002, the Tattoo helped celebrate Her Majesty’s Golden Jubilee with a spectacular production, which featured performers from across the Commonwealth, while Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal is the Tattoo’s Patron.
The Edinburgh Military Tattoo is one of the greatest shows on earth. Each year, against the dramatic backdrop of Edinburgh Castle, it showcases the very best of music, dance and precision display from home and abroad. Since the first Tattoo in 1950, more than 12 million people have joined the audience on the Castle esplanade. Today, around 217,000 people attend the Tattoo annually. And every decade more than 1 billion people around the world tune in to watch the show on television.
The Tattoo seeks to promote servicemen and women in a positive light and as Head of the Armed Forces there is an instinctive connection between Her Majesty and the celebrated Military spectacle.
Scotland’s military showpiece event is set up and run for charitable purposes. The not-for-profit organisation has, over the years, gifted some £5 million to support arts and culture as well as the principal Service benevolent organisations.
Meanwhile, 2010 kicks off in spectacular style in February with the Tattoo launching its Diamond Jubilee Year celebrations in Australia with a series of performances in Sydney. Then, this summer, over 1,000 performers from the Middle East, Switzerland, New Zealand, the United States of America and the United Kingdom are set to gather in Edinburgh for August’s 60th Anniversary Tattoo (6-28 August), which will include some yet to be revealed birthday surprises.
There are still some tickets left for a few of the performances. The website can be accessed here.
If you don’t know what the Tattoo is about then have a look at the videos here.
