The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo Omdömen 

Very disappointing - our first visit absolutely ruined by Alan Lane who has some extremely warped concepts about what a military tatoo should be! Where were the normally to be expected disciplined drill routines and military bands? This was a shambles with little girls in skirts dancing a lot and not very well!!! The USA got to play and sing rock music with no drill routines and not even any good music! also who thought Qatar was a good idea but at least they tried with some drill. The RAF was the only part of the night worth the money.

What a disappointment. Flew over from Norway 4 years ago and it was absolutely awesome. Seems the military part has been severely toned down. The lone piper was not even happening as before, no big start. The Scottish traditions toned down. Participants like US marines added nothing other than some musical show. I did like the RAF and contribution from Germany and New Zealand, but their part was too short. They also spent 20+ mins on presenting participants which felt like they had to fill the 90 mins. The whole show felt more like a product than a show showing military traditions. They just was to sell tickets for money and not proudly showing the pipe bands and Scottish. A lot of money wasted on a disappointing show.

My last visit to the tattoo was 20+ years ago so was excited to take my English friend to show her what it was all about
What a disappointment. The precision marching and the pipes and drums were excellent but then it descended into some type of second rate musical show.
Tickets are expensive and I expected better.

I can honestly say that I will never attend such an event again I treated my sister to The Royal Edinburgh Tattoo I wish I hadn't bothered, this event was supposed to be a complete Sell out that's a big lie as there was spare seats beside me and in other parts of the castle, it cost me hundred s of pounds, there was elderly people sitting behind us me and my sister and they kept complaining about me recording and making it difficult for them to see I lowered my camera but they kept pocking me which was spoiling the show me and my sister moved seats as there was two to my right hand side remember this was supposed to be a complete sell out event!
Even though me and my sister moved seats it didn't stop people behind us being really difficult I was being told to put my camera away loads of people were filming this event I didn't keep recording because I wasn't impressed with what was happening at the event this was so different to (my own previous experience when I attended on my own I sat in a different location in the stadium and the event was different the entire event was amazing compared to what we have recently experienced I'm absolutely gutted I promised my sister an amazing evening it was terrible.

I thoroughly enjoyed my experience of the tattoo again this year. Very impressed with the RAF band and Colour Squadron - brought tears to my eyes. As usual the pipes and drums provided the atmosphere for the event and was impressed with their support of the other acts. NZ and German Koblenz bands were excellent. Of the foreign contingents the Quatri band and drill team were most impressive. The US Army display was frankly rubbish and disappointing compared to their previous contributions. Too much dancing (which I appreciate is traditional) at the expense of more military involvement. Security, stewarding and arena support staff were good. Disappointed by the price of drinks available. The choreography of the final muster was brilliant.

Huge disappointment:
Overpowering backing tracks ruined the feeling, freezing coldWhat a massive disappointment. We travelled all the way from the Netherlands specifically for this show, drawn in by the heavy advertising for 'Top Secret'. However, the performance brought zero energy. It had almost nothing to do with a traditional military Tattoo anymore. Instead, we were forced to watch Michael Jackson songs and dance routines that have nothing to do with Scotland. To make matters worse, the sound was completely overpowering; it was blatantly obvious that the show relied heavily on pre-recorded backing tracks. Because of this, the authentic musical feeling and atmosphere were completely gone. Combined with the freezing cold in the stands, it was a miserable experience. This was definitely not worth the money or the trip.

Grote teleurstelling: Slecht geluid verpest de sfeer, ijskoud en geen echte Taptoe meer

Wat een enorme teleurstelling. Wij zijn speciaal vanuit Nederland hiernaartoe gereisd voor deze show, aangetrokken door de grote reclame over 'Top Secret'. Maar de show bracht totaal geen energie. Het had amper nog iets met een militaire taptoe te maken. In plaats daarvan kregen we Michael Jackson-nummers en dansjes te zien die niets met Schotland te maken hebben. Daarnaast was het geluid veel te dominant aanwezig; het was overduidelijk dat er vooraf opgenomen muziek werd gebruikt voor de show. Het echte, pure muziekgevoel was daardoor volledig weg. Voeg daar de ijskoude wind op de tribunes aan toe, en de ervaring was compleet verpest. Dit was het geld en de reis absoluut niet waard.

We had accessible seating , but as my husband didn’t have a wheelchair we were up 3 stairs with a grill fence to the right of us , my husband on the large size , then me then another large person next to me with oxygen tank , not good I was sandwiched couldn’t straighten my shoulders , the disability helpers were excellent wheelchair assistants one young girl that pushed my husband up the hill and young lad pushing him down , they were excellent wheelchair assistants.

Went to the tattoo tonight and I have to Admit I was extremely disappointed. I was expecting military and got a poor Elton John , Michael Jackson, some crazy dad dancing and basically a load of repetitive dancing …..I honestly couldn’t understand what I was watching ..the end bit was good but I couldn’t wait for it to finish

Nothing wrong with the perfomers
But the tattoo is absolutely terrible
Wonderful live music, drowned out by blurred overloud « background « music, making the live performance inaudible, all through the show
Fire the director immediately

am a serving Royal Navy Warrant Officer with 37 years’ service, and I have supported operations across the world. The Tattoo has always meant a great deal to me, and I’ve attended many times over my career. But my recent experience has left me frankly appalled.

My son — a schoolboy — spent over £100 of his savings to buy me Tattoo tickets as a Father’s Day surprise. He had no way of knowing I would be deployed in support of operations that week. We informed the Tattoo box office immediately, provided proof of my deployment, and asked about transferring or refunding the tickets.

The response was indifference. No flexibility, no consideration, no acknowledgement whatsoever that I am a serving member of HM Forces. The box office simply redirected us to XCover and washed their hands of the matter. Six weeks later, XCover refused the claim despite their own terms covering unexpected deployment.

The Tattoo relies entirely on the goodwill, free time, and labour of the armed forces. Without military personnel, there is no show. People like me need to be at the front line to allow others to support the Tattoo — yet when genuine military circumstances arise, the organisation shows no respect, no support, and no basic decency.

My son is left out of pocket, and the Tattoo has shown complete indifference to the realities of service life. I strongly advise members of the armed forces to think very carefully before purchasing XCover or relying on the Tattoo for fair treatment.

A Scot, living in NZ for 25 years I was left somewhat deflated with the experience. Whilst the performers were excellent, I was disappointed at the lack of pipes and drums, especially with some well known songs such as; Highland Cathedral (played for 10 seconds briefly) and ‘Flower o Scotland’ missing. The MC.. to be honest, seriously?! The only good thing was not being able to understand a word he said.
A missed opportunity to showcase and sell Scottish Fare. A Tennents Lager, Irn BRU or a dram could have fun for some and made things a bit more Scottish.
Over all though, I would recommend, though more suitably organised transport after, especially with quite a large older audience would have made things a lot more comfortable for some.

Enjoyed the first part of the show with the castle background but then the disco lighting came on. Terrible and not fitting. Need to see the performers on
the screen not flashing lighting. Lots of pipes at the beginning of show only. Needed more of the pipes.
They came on at the very end of the show but couldn't hear them because of the fireworks!!

I guess it had to be a scaled back version of what the real thing would be in Scotland. I think it’s certainly missed the atmosphere it would have had within a castle setting. The organisers at the venue were very on hand, proactive and helpful. I’m glad I went, but I wouldn’t go again. The New Zealand Maori performances were stunning. The New Zealand band was very much of a letdown. It felt that their musicians weren’t up to it nor was their marching performance routine. I felt like they relied on audience appeal, singing, along to the songs rather than having a tight skilled performance themselves.
Bus Transport by AT after the event was minimal. At lower Albert Street hundreds of patrons most of them elderly were lining up waiting for an hour or more for NX1 buses which were not frequently scheduled. After leaving the event just after 10 PM I was on a 12:30 AM bus having stood most of that time in a line in Lower Albert Street. Lots of ‘not in Service’ buses came and went picking up nobody. AT you need to real realize beforehand the deluge of people that are going to be using buses in the northern direction.

An embarrassment. It was like an amateur production. Started well but 45 min in it was just embarrassing. The massive screen behind did not show the precision of the bands or the highland dancers. Some stupid coloured lights constantly flashed.
NZ corps band sang horrendously.
The orchestra was way too loud in the shed to the side and drowned out some of probably tj best bits.

A total waste of money an no wonder it did not sell out.

We have just watched the first half of the tattoo. 19th Feb.
The screen is giving us a disco light show that in no way reflects the wonderful acts on the grass. There is no correlation between the two. Stop the screen. Light up the entertainers properly. Let us see those who are performing. We are no here to watch a light show. We’re here to see professional play and present. Very very disputed with our $385.00 each tickets.

An insult to the real thing. Poorly put together and was like a terrible dico with flashing coloured lights arround the stadium and the back drop screen - lost for words to discribe how bad it was. And the commentator - not sure where they found him but they should put him back and thow away the key. This was not a military Tattoo, this was a discusting over priced disco.

I have just watched the Tatoo on Australian televion as it aired last night. I am so disappointed!! I expect to see a Scottish Military Tattoo with Scottish Military music, competitions, exciting drills etc. - not American, Indian performances. So much American content, you could be forgiven for believing it was an American show. So much dancing as well. I was tossing up travelling there this year specifically to see it - I'm so glad I didn't waste my money. Please, organisers, go back to what it used to be. Please!

I am writing this e mail after watching the TV production last night. 2 years ago when my wife and I visited the tattoo for the umpteenth time we were so disappointed with the terrible show that we said we wouldn't return. It wasn't the tattoo that we knew but a musical show without any commentator or indeed any audience participation. Just awful.
HOWEVER, we thoroughly enjoyed this Tattoo, especially the narrator who was amazing. He had a wonderful Scottish accent and joined the show together perfectly. Great to see a programme of events that included military and Scotland as this is what people from all over the world come to see.
Many congratulations to Alan Lane and we will certainly return to our beloved Edinburgh Tattoo

Went to the Tattoo last night, we enjoyed it but it didn't live up to expectations. What we were really disappointed with is that a lot of the acts only displayed at one end (Castle) of the arena. Why could they not have been in the centre of the arena was baffling to us. Glad we went, but came away thinking it could have been so much better.

The actual tattoo was fabulous.Well worth seeing.The queuing system to get into the tattoo was horrendous.They made us que all the way down the hill to walk all the way back up the hill.By the time you reach the top they are rushing you to get in before the start of the show.Half a mile down and up the hill is not a good way to start your visit.