Background

The Edinburgh Military Tattoo performed on the majestic esplanade of Edinburgh Castle is one of the most established events in Edinburgh’s festival calendar. Formed in 1950, the tattoo has been in production for over 50 years. Currently the programme reaches approximately 200,000 visitors each year and over 12 million people have attended the event since its conception.

Brief

• To provide installation of all gas burners on the walls of the castle
• To provide crew for pyrotechnics, lighting, PA and projection installation
• To provide set and scenery construction where required for individual show production
• To set up and install flag poles and flags around the castle walls
• To install sponsor signage and health and safety signage
• To install waterproofed storage areas for all electrical lighting equipment used

Operation

Big House Events have provided production services for the Tattoo since 2002 and therefore the operational aspect of the production is well rooted within the minds of both company directors.  Initial meetings for production work begin in June and continue into July. A team of specialised production crew are contracted for pre production and event production. At the beginning of set up, Big House Events provide 6 crew to assist with install of seating, gas burners and installation of up to 80 flag poles.  On a daily basis there are up to 10 specialist lighting technicians, 2 sound technicians, 2 projections specialists and 3 crew working on moving set in and out of shows in the esplanade.  Working with the pyrotechnic team on a daily basis, our crew assist in setting up and taking down the pyrotechnic requirements for each individual show.

One of the major challenges faced in the set up of the Tattoo production is working alongside the vast number of tourists that continue to visit the castle during the months of June and July.

Results

The Edinburgh Military Tattoo certainly goes off with a bang! With so many fireworks used in one event, to the cascading coloured smoke trailing down the castle walls and the enthralling sound of the pipe bands the Tattoo always creates a remarkable impression on its audience.  2008 marked the 59th year of the Tattoo and tickets sold out way in advance of the festival.

After several years of a good working relationship with the Edinburgh Military Tattoo and increasing technical production services provided our remit and success has become exceptionally fine tuned and allows for a spectacular event to operate at it’s maximum potential.