The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo Reviews 111

American bands, American singers, American flag? What was going on? I thought I was going to a Scottish Military show. Wish there had been more bagpipes, the lone piper in the castle was best bit.

I have been attending the Edinburgh Military Tattoo for over 40 years, sadly the last two years have seen it lose its attraction.
Firstly the positive, the booking and online tickets make it far easier to enter.
Last year we had no narrator, hence no audience participation, as a result the atmosphere of the past sadly missing. This is obviously a cynical attempt to sell programs at £10. Displaying the act on the wall of the castle very difficult to read and frankly pointless.
I wonder if they are trying to create a situation to bring the event to an end, if so they are doing a good job. I noted the number of empty seats in the stands somethin you would not have seen a few years ago.
Next year is the 75th and I and my group have booked again, however if we do not see a return to the traditional Military Tattoo it will be our last visit.

If I want to go to a rock festival or dance festival then I will book it, for goodness sake get back to basics. Give control to the military as they know how it is done.

What a waste of money! It used to be excellent. Only couple of bands worth watching now but the rest was too amateur for this type of event. To add facilities poor and drinks over priced. Save your money!

This is my second time at the Edinburgh military tattoo, the first time being in 2009 when I was blown away by it. However i can't tell you how disappointed my friends and I were this time around. It was a woke dance show that had limited amounts of military displays in it. Its the military that we come to see, hence the title!! Please restore this amazing traditional Military event and stop trying to make everything so woke

We came all the way from Australia to see the famous Edinburgh Military Tattoo as we had seen the Tattoo when it came to Australia about 10yrs ago. we enjoyed it so much we said if we ever came to Scotland the Tattoo was a must see. We'll what a disappointment, a big disappointment it was
more like a song and dance production with a bit of Bollywood thrown in for what reason
I have no idea, the show seemed to be
dominated by America, there were absolutely
no introductions of the bands it was just a
see and guess, there was very little in the
way of Military theme, the whole show
seemed to be a mish mash of bands, no one
from Scotland spoke, it was like the whole
show was just a new age WOKE version. Will NOT be coming back again. Scotland and I say this having Scotish ancestry but your
organisers and powers to be have turned the
Edinburgh Military Tattoo into a 2nd rate bag
pipe hip hop show led by American singers.

Absolutely terrible! Only a few highlights like Majesticks Drum Corps and the pipe bands, the rest of the acts, which made up the majority of the show, seemed like cheap fillers, dull and uninspired! 4 of us paid £220 each expecting to be dazzled and were left feeling we wasted our money. Very disappointing!

This was an exceptional event , exceedingly well organised and displayed .
The stewards and support staff were polite and friendly yet offered clear directives .
The show itself was beyond words and truly worth every penny - what skill and ability each participant had !!! A fabulous experience not to be missed

So disappointed, Not my first REMT but may be my last. Titled Journeys (no idea what journey we were supposed to be on) compared to last years “Storey” which got 10 out 10 in every section.
For us someone this year forgot that “Military” in
the title is what makes the difference from just a show. Why did we not have bands from all the different armed forces, why did we have Bollywood in the middle or a DJ on a pedestal thing, I have nothing against either in rightsetting but there nothing military about it , actually embarrassing how badly they looked compared to the precision military ladies and gents.
The drummers were fantastic but so far down the parade ground area that unless you were a VIP of in lower end of the area you couldn’t see what they were doing. If you sat in section 17 mayas well not be there as apart from seeing entry on to parade you basically looked at the back of the heads of musicians etc.no one came up in singing sections, or dancing parts.
To clarify I have sat in various sections over the years for variety of reasons from cost to wanting a different view(we certainly got that). The personnel who took part were fantastic and skilled, many thanks for your time and sharing with us.
Lastly to the makers of journeys please take note of a lot of disappointed tattoo goers , we want the Edinburgh Military Tattoo back with all our forces marching ,playing making us gasp with appreciation for how they do do it all;
They deserve to have their moment .

Agree with everything said by others
Not going again until they bring back a proper military tattoo!
Have been going for 20 years, every year. Really upset at always part of our summer holiday in Edinburgh
Shame on the organisers to have a non Scot as CEO
Put the present one in the tower in the castle and throw away the key!😁

Dress code for Royal Edinburgh Tattoo states no sports shoes. Does the organisers not realise that most elderly people now wear sports shoes for comfort. Visit to Doctor today where I was advised to only wear sports shoes for health.

Eventually phoned as I notice from other reviews they did not reply. Enquired about the footwear I have for age and health and got a positive answer.

I came all excited to see a MILIATARY tattoo, i had been told and seen shows from previous years, how wonderful it was.
What we felt we got was an americanised disneyisque production, with an end song that just went on and on and on, with pretty twinkling stars and cartoons being projected onto the castle.
Dont get me wrong the pipers were amazing, but the glitz and glamour of everything else had us perplexed.
Although hosted by the Royal Navy, a guard with 2 lines doesnt cut it. Any military performance was dominated by the yanks.
We walked away feeling a little disappointed and maybe a little ripped off. It was my first time to Scotland, the birthplace of my grandparents, and the tattoo was going to be a highlight, but alas it was a dissapointment. I will say the cast and crew did an amazing performance for a disney show, lots of hard work and practise, so they should feel proud of themselves. This review does not reflect on the performers.

Very disappointed.
No commentary to introduce the bands and music as in previous years.
It just sort of started then it finished.
No military things like previous years as in mock battles, horses or the motorbike displays, no Marine competitions.
There were quite a few empty seats.

What a very disappointing evening. This should have been called the "Edinburgh Show"; miss out the words "Military Tattoo". No British RAF and no Army representatives apart from the Pipes & Drums and the Royal Marine Band who were brilliant. There were a few Royal Navy ratings, but only to open the car door for the guest of honour. Singing, dancing and even a DJ Podium Booth; I don't consider this to be part of the military.

We came to see the Tattoo with friends and were very disappointed. The military side was not broadcasted properly. There were very little shown in comparison to what we saw 2 years ago. We saw the Tattoo 2 years ago which was fantastic, unbelievable and definitely worth seeing. Bring back what we saw 2 years ago.

I was clearly not alone in finding the 2024 Tattoo a major disappointment.I’ve been a tattoo goer since childhood in the mid 1960’s off and on.It always had a emotional element and made you proud of your national heritage.Not so this year.It was a dire mix of mediocre performances not even worthy of a second rate cruise line.The Royal Marines are usually a guaranteed draw-but they were lumbered with a tacky medley of opening bars from various well known marches.The “lump on the throat” of the masses pipes and drums was absent.The drum corps were a third rate imitation of the usual Secret Drum Corps of Switzerland and the lack of informative commentary throughout was a major omission.Cannot possible recommend in the future unless someone who knows what it’s all about delivers a performance to be proud of.I notice another reviewer refers to a US CEO .If that is the case -it’s about time that someone with a proper understanding of the history of the event was brought in without delay.

My first time to Scotland and I was very excited to get tickets to the Tattoo, sadly I was very disappointed.
I totally agree with other reviews, this was a musical not a Military Tattoo. A little bagpipe and drums at the beginning and end and the rest was dancing and singing.
How can you have a military tattoo and not even play Highland Cathedral?
This was not what I came to see.
I looked up last year's show on YouTube and wished I had been able to see that.

It's the Edinburgh tattoo now not the military Tattoo , was a great show but the rave part was unnecessary unfortunately the show now gives no talk on the bands and places where from and not everyone looks at the castle wall to know who's what

It takes real talent to take a wonderfully successful institution like The REMT and turn it into a disappointment. I take nothing against individual performance efforts.
The American CEO has clearly lost the plot and the event is surviving on a past record of excellence.
Sadly it can no longer be described as a Military Tattoo and no amount of laser light technology can disguise this shortcoming. The popularity and success of this event will decline with meteoric speed as its failures are rapidly disseminated on social media (in my view)
A reset to basic principles is desperately required or the public will stop attending. The QUALITY of anything is a question of CONFORMANCE TO REQUIREMENTS and is designed and managed top- down. Currently this basic function i.e. Management Top-Down is failing in all respects and it gives me no pleasure to make this observation.
I reiterate, this is a management failure in every respect in my view.
Why on earth an American CEO is an appropriate choice simply explains (to me) part of the nature of a major element of the problem. I hate to see decline of this great institution.
P.S. I am a retired Quality Manager in Engineering.

Lots of singing and dancing this year and, whilst excellent, did not think there was enough of drill displays, certainly not enough Scottish music and bagpiping. I agree with other reviewers…more like a musical. The horses parading were missing too. Artists did work hard and want to acknowledge the talent on display. A visitor to Scotland this year (2024) wouldn’t really have got a taste of the culture and spectacle which is usually on display. Disappointed.

Major disappointment. It was much less of military and more like some woke talent show. 4/10 and that’s being generous.