| Page Views: 953 Last Visit to Edinburgh Castle: July, 2002 | The Edinurgh Military Tattoo by ShelleyKeating - last update: Apr 5, 2008 |
The Edinburgh Miltary Tattoo- from the inside Edinburgh castle, built in the 7th century, sits high on Castle rock, an ancient volcanic crag, and governs the views of Edinburgh. The north, south and west of the castle is surrounded by shear volcanic cliff faces up to 122m (a strategically built castle!). To the East is what is well known as the Royal Mile, a long street of cobbled stone which leads up to the Esplanade of the castle. It is on this Esplanade that the Edinburgh Military Tattoo takes place every year. |
| 2000 Edinburgh Military Tattoo |
|  | The Edinburgh Military Tattoo is an impressive display of military bands from around the world, as well as displaying choreographied Highland Dancing and other cultural dances from abroad. The setting couldn't be better- the esplanade of Scotlands most famous castle- Edinburgh Castle.
The term “Tattoo” came from soldiers in the 17th and 18th century who, upon closing time when they must return to their barracks, cried “Doe den tap toe” (Turn off the taps!). This was shortened to ‘Tap toe’ and eventually ‘Tattoo’ which evolved into a ceremony in the evening time.
The first Tattoo was held in 1950 and has been held almost every year (there has never been a show cancelled- the show is performed in rain). About 217000 people each year see the show and as the show donates money to support the community it has generated five million pounds to different organisations |
| Dancers of the Edinburgh Millitary Tattoo, 2002 |
| | I was a spectator of the Tattoo in 1992, 1997 and in 2000 and enjoyed it from start to finish. The show includes displays of massed pipes and military bands from all over the world (the sound of hundreds of bagpipes playing tunes gives you goose bumps). Each visiting band gives a fantastic performance- it is amazing what can be done with formations and choreographies whilst playing an instrument.
The Scottish Ceilidh Dancers perform each year with a guest solo dancer to show the crowd an awesome display of aspects of Highland Dancing. In 1992, when I was 7, I remember thinking how amazing it would be to dance in the show, and in 2002 my wish was granted!
The 2002 Edinburgh Military Tattoo was held in honour of Queen Elizabeth II 50th year of rein, the Golden Jubilee, and thus teams of dancers from the Commonwealth countries were invited to join the Scottish dancers. I represented Australia to join the Scots, New Zealanders, Canadians, and South Africans.
See my travelogue for my recount of my experience of performing in this show and to get an insight into ‘Behind the scenes’. |
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 Comments for ShelleyKeating about Edinburgh Castle | | | | |
irishgalmtl Sun Dec 24, 2006 08:23 UTC
Hello there Shelley you are very welcome. Wow what a great pg beautiful pics . And the the big one o'c gun is very different...Donna :) | JessH Thu Sep 21, 2006 10:46 UTC
Hey, thanx for visiting my pages! Aaaaa, Edinburgh. My fiance is from there, so I really hope to visit one day soon! :-) |
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