Tattoo diamond jubilee: A sparkling celebration

Published on Thursday 5 August 2010 13:29

ARMY officers singing Robbie Williams, brass band members pirouetting to the Nutcracker waltz and a five-year-old riding a motorbike backwards are a few highlights of the Edinburgh Military Tattoo's diamond jubilee.

Thousands of people packed the Castle Esplanade last night for the preview of the city's spectacular annual show.

As ever, the event combined traditional Scottish music and dancing with acts from across the globe.

Once the stirring sounds of the military pipes and drums had got the evening under way, the audience was treated to the daring stunts and incredible teamwork of the Imps Motorcycle Display Team, comprised of youngsters aged between five and 16.

Led on to the Esplanade by five-year-old Joseph Dennis from London, the young team stunned the audience with a 17-man pyramid balancing on five moving bikes, before riding backwards at high speed.

Other highlights included the Royal Jordanian Army Band, returning to the Tattoo for the first time in 47 years, and the New Zealand Army Band, who broke from tradition when they dropped their instrument and danced a mock ballet, before enacting the Haka.

After a display of air acrobatics from the Army Physical Training Corps, all of whom have served in Afghanistan in the past year, the audience joined hands for Auld Land Syne, before the combined acts gave the audience a night to remember with a final send off.