Voyage to America
As an Organisation, we are always looking for opportunities to explore new frontiers and share our traditions with the world. Therefore, we were delighted to accept an invitation from the Scottish Office to join them for this year’s Tartan Week in New York for the second year running.
Our Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo Performers are homebound after a whirlwind trip to the United States of America. Following on from a successful New York Tartan Week visit in 2023, we were honoured to be invited back.
We joined UK Government Minister for Scotland, John Lamont, to represent the Scotland Office and celebrate not only Scottish tradition and culture, but Scotland’s global business contribution.
Alongside representatives from the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, we supported the Minister at a UK Government reception celebrating the best of Scotland’s produce and culture held at Diageo’s New York HQ in the World Trade center.
Tartan Week festivities continued with a number of events showcasing our Tattoo traditions and incredible Piping, Fiddling and Dancing talents. Our Performers put on a show for locals at Manhattan’s Byrant Park, reuniting with our 2022 cast members, The Highland Divas.
We were honoured to host a number of guests including representatives from the UK Government Scotland Office and leaders from New York’s financial services and entertainment sectors for a Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo event held at The Pierre NY hotel. This included discussions around our ambitions to bring the Tattoo to America in the future.
Tartan Week festivities culminated in an annual Tartan Day Parade on Saturday 6 April. The Parade, led by this year’s Grand Marshal, actor Dougray Scott, was a celebration of all things Scotland. Pipers, Drummers, Highland Dancers, Scottie Dogs and Scotland enthusiasts from around America joined the march down Sixth Avenue. We were proud to walk alongside Minister Lamont, Diageo and the British Consulate to represent the UK Scotland Office and Scottish culture.
Last year I saw Tartan Week for the first time, and was blown away by the passion of those who celebrate the links between Scotland and the US. This year, I wanted to strengthen our links even more by promoting our most important exports - whisky, energy and financial services - and our rich culture.
It was fantastic to share our military traditions at last year's event and we're delighted to have been invited by the Scotland Office to take part in this year's Tartan Week celebrations.
We have bold ambitions to share our unique and stirring performances with the world and Tartan Week offered a great opportunity to showcase the talent of the Tattoo's musicians and dancers.
Our recent Tartan Week activity was another step on our journey of exploration overseas.
We pride ourselves on bringing people together on a local, national and international scale and aim to continue sharing our Scottish culture, military heritage and love of traditional art forms across the globe.
WHAT’S NEXT?
Once on home soil, our Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo Performers will embark on their next adventure. As we continue our goal of sharing the spirit of the Tattoo around the world, we will journey to Oslo to participate in this year’s Norwegian Military Tattoo.
Featuring almost 850 international performers, The Norwegian Military Tattoo is the country’s largest indoor show. The event will feature military music, drill display, choir performances and more.
Our performer contingent, including Dancers, Pipers, Drummers and Fiddlers will represent The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo from 26 – 28 April in Oslo Spektrum arena.
You can see our Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo Performers live on the Edinburgh Castle Esplanade this Summer with tickets to our Journeys Show. Book today.
Photos by UK Government Scotland.
08 April 2024