Minnie the Minx, Bond and the Jubilee all in the Edinburgh Military Tattoo

By BRIAN FERGUSON
Published on 25/07/2012 01:01

THIS year’s Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo promises to be the most unusual in its history – with a Bond theme, a Pictish warrior, a celebration of Scotch whisky, Dennis the Menace and a re-enactment of the Queen’s coronation set to feature.

Comic-strip superheroes will be celebrated by the US navy band, an Australian dance troupe is to tackle Scotland’s engineering heritage, while a massed band will bring music from the Disney-Pixar film Brave to life on Edinburgh Castle Esplanade.

It has emerged that Dennis the Menace and Minnie the Minx will be let loose to cause bouts of mayhem during the show, with BMX stunt experts playing the mischievous pair.

The star attractions are set to include the Australian Defence Force band, the “Top Secret Drum Corps” from the Swiss city of Basel, the King of Norway’s Guard and South Africa’s Cape Town Highlanders pipe band. Kylie Minogue’s Spinning Around and AC/DC’s Highway to Hell will be among the musical pieces.

Brigadier David Allfrey, the show’s producer, said the finale would be dedicated to the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, with the audience being taken on a journey back to her coronation. He is urging audiences to “bling up” by wearing glitter, tiaras and other dazzling accoutrements.

He said: “We are privileged and fortunate to have lived in the time of Queen Elizabeth II. When we chart the seismic changes in our society and in the world over her reign, we cannot help but reflect on Her Majesty’s relentless sense of duty, wisdom and balance over an extraordinary 60 years.”

Shirley Bassey’s Bond anthem Diamonds are Forever will feature in the climax, along with Zadoc the Priest, Rule Britannia, Auld Lang Syne and Crags of Tumbledown, which will be performed by the “lone piper”.