News Details of next year's 60th Showstopper Edinburgh Military Tattoo
Firm audience
favourites, the (now not-so-secret) Top Secret Drum Corps from the Swiss city
of Basel will, by popular demand, make a welcome return to the Scottish Capital
for next year's 60th Edinburgh Tattoo (7-29 August) and its three-week
season on the floodlit Esplanade of Edinburgh Castle.
Fusing furiously fast
and exceptionally precise percussion with clockwork precision visual effects,
this 30-strong group is once again expected to drum its way in to the hearts of
an anticipated 217,000 Tattoo-goers.
With over 1,000
performers, featuring Tongan musicians, an all-male Canadian choir, the Indian
Navy, as well as entertainers from the Royal Scottish Academy of Music &
Drama, the Tattoo is set to present a compelling mix of music, ceremony, and
theatre, while continuing to showcase the very best of Scottish culture.
Indeed, 2009 sees
Scotland's showpiece military tattoo paying tribute to the 250th anniversary of the birth of the country's national bard, Robert Burns, and
playing its part in Scotland's first ever year of Homecoming.
Tattoo Chief Executive
& Producer, Major General Euan Loudon, said: "We
are delighted to be part of next year's important celebration of Scotland's culture
and heritage, when we plan to stage four exclusive extra Tattoo performances
outside Edinburgh to mark this
special Year of Homecoming."
And, as 2009 is the 250th anniversary of the birth of Robert Burns, a feature of next year's show will be
a series of vignettes depicting episodes from the popular poet's works. This
includes an extract of one of the finest examples of his craft, ‘Tam
O'Shanter', which will celebrate the legacy of this literary legend in poetry
and dance.
Next summer's colourful
production will also include contributions from Switzerland's premier military
band, the Central Band of the Swiss Army, in their first appearance at the
Edinburgh Tattoo, the Massed Bands of the Royal Air Force, who previously
performed at the 2004 Tattoo, and a 50-strong Australian Highland Dance troupe who
will come together with the Tattoo's own Highland Spring Dancers.
Using the latest sound
and lighting technologies, the 60th event, which will also showcase some
never-before-seen acts from overseas, will present a production of outstanding
colour and variety from the four corners of the globe.
Yet the centrepiece and
very heart of next year's Tattoo is again expected to be the spine-tingling
sights and sounds of the world-famous Massed Pipes & Drums as they emerge
across the revered drawbridge of Edinburgh Castle each
evening.
Booking for the 2009
Edinburgh Tattoo (7-29 August) opens on Monday,
1st December, 2008. Tickets, priced
£14.00 to £49.00, can be obtained via the Internet at www.edinburgh-tattoo.co.uk/tickets . Telephone orders may be made from 10am (GMT) on ++44 (0)131 225 1188 from 8th December, while counter bookings will be accepted on Wednesday 17th December 2008 from the Tattoo Tickets Sales
Office, 32-34 Market Street, Edinburgh EH1 1QB.
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