Last spring a friend of mine wanted to plan a huge extravaganza for her last night in Scotland, so she convinced a bunch of us to buy tickets for the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo, which occurs almost every night in August. Of course I wasn't going to pass up this opportunity because I had heard of this event for years and never thought I would actually get the opportunity to go. When I first traveled to Scotland as a child I saw postcards throughout Edinburgh with photos of the Tattoo. I thought the Scottish were odd for calling this event a 'tattoo,' but the photos made the event look like the coolest thing ever. I asked my family about it when I saw these postcards, but they told me we wouldn't be able to go because it happened in August when I had to be in school. Since I now live in Scotland, making a quick trip to Edinburgh to watch the Tattoo wasn't so difficult, and my friend made it super easy to get tickets since she did most of the leg work (by the way, thanks for that).
When Scottish family and friends heard that I was going to the Tattoo, they asked me how I was able to get tickets. For the past decade every show of the Tattoo has been sold out long before the actually event. Even locals have a hard time getting ahold of tickets when they wait too long. One cousin told me she tried to buy tickets for this year but couldn't do it online or over the phone since there weren't enough. Most people try to buy them as soon as they go one sale (next year's tickets go on sale in early December). I'm not sure how or why my friend was able to get tickets so late in the year when so many of the shows were already sold out. If I ever wanted to go back to Scotland to see the Tattoo, I would have to make plans several months in advance.
For those of you who do not know what the Edinburgh Military Tattoo is, I compare it to a military marching band show (but not a parade since it all happens in a small area in front of the Edinburgh Castle). The 90 minute show opens and closes with bagpipers, which include not only Scottish Highland bagpipers but also bagpipers from all over the world including the United States. I've never seen so many bagpipers in one place. Though the bagpipers are probably the most important attraction to the Tattoo, the show includes several other performances from military bands from across the world. This year's show included military marching bands from Poland, New Zealand, the United States (The Citadel, South Carolina), and Jordan. Many of these bands included their own bagpipers. The most fascinating band was New Zealand, who mixed a traditional military marching band style with their non-conventional style. The worse band was the Queen's Royal Guard (I think that's what they were called), who had mediocre rock guitarists playing quasi-pop style music as one of their guys sang poorly. We also watched a large display of traditional Scottish dance. The show ends with a fireworks show over the castle and then a lone bagpiper standing on top of the castle.
Of course, I took a lot of photographs and videos. Though the show was about 90 minutes to 2 hours long, I took about 45 minutes of video. I'm surprised my camera lasted that long. Here's some of what I took:
The show opened with bagpipers exiting the castle.
The bagpipers marched back and forth in front of the castle.
I was surprised they had enough space to do this since
there were so many bagpipers, but they did manage to make
different formations in spite of the tight space.
This was a rather cool stunt from a young motor
cyclist. I'm not really sure how these youth get
to be part of a group like this. I'm also perplexed
that parents would allow their young children,
some as young as 5, to join this group.
Marching band from The Citadel, USA.
They were ok but weren't the best.
Jordan's contribution to the show included a lot of
marching and not a lot of music.
Above all else, the Tattoo is a British military show.
These British soldiers, many of whom had recently served
in Afghanistan, demonstrate how they protected a 'traditional
Afghan family.' As my friends and I watched this, we weren't
sure what was about to happen because the demonstration
started when the British soldiers point guns at the family.
We were also sitting around tourists from the Middle East,
and we weren't sure how they reacted to this demonstration.
Most of my friends agreed that this part of the show was
the most controversial because it painted too rosy a picture
of the Afghan War. Then again, this is a military show,
and I wouldn't expect them to talk about the 'grayer'
sides of war in a festival like the Tattoo.
Fireworks show over the castle
A sample of my videos from the Tattoo
Outside the Tattoo is the Edinburgh Fringe, which is a large street festival on the Royal Mile throughout August. There's also a bunch of shows associated with this event. Though we spent the afternoon in Edinburgh and walked around the Royal Mile before the show, we only glanced at the Fringe. I briefly watched a magician do card tricks for a crowd, but that's pretty much all I watched. At least I can say I saw the "Fringe."
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