Sydneysiders are in for a treat this year with the return of the internationally regarded Edinburgh Military Tattoo this February. Beating out New York, Melbourne and Auckland, Sydney will be hosting this entertainment sensation for the second time.

Celebrating its 60^th year, The Edinburgh Military Tattoo has only performed outside of Edinburgh twice in its entire history – in 2000, it graced the city of Wellington before coming to the Sydney shores in 2005. Now in 2010, this latest performance, “The Edinburgh Military Tattoo – Celebrating 60 Years of Valour, Mateship and Glory” will highlight the long standing relationship between Australian and British defence forces. To be held at Sydney Football Stadium at the Sydney Cricket Ground, this glorious event is guaranteed to wow audiences with its fanfare and display (complete with $1 million spectacular replica castle – still in storage at Redfern!)

Sixty Years of Valour, Mateship and Glory

2010 marks the 60^th anniversary since the inception of the Edinburgh Military Tattoo. Back in 1950, the Tattoo debuted as the Army in Scotland’s contribution to Edinburgh’s International Festivities. Pivotal to the Tattoo’s jaw dropping performance is of course, the bag pipes and drums that have become the quintessential icon of Scottish culture. However, the performance itself is so much more, with dancers, performers and bands from all across the world. The highly anticipated Sydney extravaganza will include over 1500 performers and is set to be the Tattoo’s largest performance yet.

Central to the theme is the coming together of military forces, especially between Great Britain and Australia. Our troops have fought side by side in a number of occasions including both World Wars, The Boer war, the Malayan Emergency and most recently in Iraq.

In 2005, over 22,000 out of town visitors came to Sydney to partake in the event. “The Edinburgh Military Tattoo – Celebrating 60 Years of Valour, Mateship, Glory is a headline international event – which is fantastic news for Sydney and NSW. It will help secure jobs and stimulate direct investment into NSW. I am delighted to welcome it back to Sydney for 2010,” said former NSW Premier, Nathan Rees. The event is estimated to bring about $15 million of tourism dollars into NSW.

Getting Around Town

The Edinburgh Military Tattoo will grace with 4 separate shows from 4 February to 7 February. Tickets are available through Ticketek.

The Tattoo will be hosted at Sydney Football Stadium at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG), and for most, public transport will be the way to go. CityRail will be providing shuttle bus service from Central and Circular Quay stations.

If you’re coming from out of town, you’ll be looking for some convenient SCG accommodation. Surry Hills is one of the city’s most popular suburbs in terms of amenities and it’s located at just a 10 minutes walk from the SCG. Book one of our great rooms for the event.

We’ll see you there!

Tags: edinburgh military tattoo, Sydney

This entry was posted on Thursday, January 14th, 2010 at 3:12 pm and is filed under Things to Do. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.