The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo arrives in Sydney

Over 1,500 performers from around the world will take centre stage today (17 October) as The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo brings its largest ever production to Sydney’s ANZ Stadium, until 19 October.

Over 1,500 performers from around the world will take centre stage today (17 October) as The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo brings its largest ever production to Sydney’s ANZ Stadium, until 19 October.

Under the theme ‘At All Points of the Compass’, the show takes guests on a tour of the world, guiding them around 360 degrees of the atlas to tell the compelling tale of Australia’s place in history and its links with allies and friends, including the Solomon Islands.

To celebrate this theme, the show leads the audience on a circular tour around an imaginary compass rose with its centre at the dusty red heart of the continent - at Lambert Centre.  For thousands of years, the indigenous people of Australia navigated their ‘country’ using ‘songlines’ - an oral tradition of routes travelled - and with this notion as inspiration, five ‘song men’ will guide the audience to the edge of traditional lands, welcoming each international group to perform in turn. 

The concept reinforces the purpose of the Tattoo in helping bring people together, to better understand each other’s cultures and ways of life to “arrive as strangers and leave as friends”. 

Amongst the huge cast line up are six of the British military’s finest pipe and drum bands which will create the Massed Pipes and Drums – one of the best known and best loved sights of the Edinburgh Tattoo.  They will be joined by Pipers Trail, the Tattoo established network of talented pipers and drummers from around the world. 

100 dancers will come together as the Tattoo Dance Company’s biggest ever team, renowned for their impeccable skill. Departing all the way from Shetland, fiddlers from Hjaltibonhoga will also make an appearance at the ANZ Stadium alongside the fellow countrymen and women, giving Aussie audiences the essence of the magical fiddle music of Scotland.

Performers from the UK will also be joined by acts from around the globe. Find out more about each country’s acts below:

 

17 October 2019