Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo 2025: How to buy tickets, dates and who is performing this year

The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo is to celebrate its 75th year with a show that promises to “celebrate the past”, while imagining the future of the iconic event.

Taking audiences back to where it all began in 1950, with the British Army taking on the prestigious role of the lead service, the show will present music, dance and precision performance that make up the past 75 years of the Tattoo story and beyond.

The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo being staged on the Edinburgh Castle esplanade. Picture: Jane Barlow/PA Wire

More than 800 performers from around the globe will take to the Edinburgh Castle Esplanade.

Here, The Scotsman answers all your key questions surrounding the 2025 Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo.

When is the 2025 Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo?

The show will run from Friday, August 1 to Saturday, August 23.

What times are Tattoo performances?

From Monday to Friday, the performance starts at 9:30pm. On Saturdays, there are two shows - one at 6.15pm and the other starting from 9:30pm.

How do I get tickets?

Tickets for The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo’s 75th-anniversary show are now on sale. They can be purchased at edintattoo.co.uk/tickets or on the phone, 0131 225 1188. The phonelines for the box office are open Monday to Friday from 10am to 4.30pm.

How much are tickets to the Tattoo?

Tickets range in price depending on the seat and date of performance from £38.50 to £1,040 each.

What is happening at this year’s Tattoo?

Joining the iconic massed pipes and drums, military musicians and Tattoo dancers will be the Band of the Polish Border Guard, Top Secret Drum Corps, United States Honour Guard Drill Team, Ukraine Naval Forces Orchestra, and United States Old Guard Fife and Drum Corps.

READ MORE: Tattoo boss admits flypasts over Edinburgh Castle 'at the mercy of' council as ban demands grow

The show will include poignant songs such as the “74th Slow March” played in honour of the brave souls of the 74th (Highland) Regiment, who were steadfast during the sinking of the ‘Birkenhead’ in 1852. In celebration of 75 years of the Tattoo, performers will collaborate on a special performance Now That’s What I call Tattoo75. It is a section of the overall show where performers take on a series of favourite hits from the past seven decades.

Audiences can expect a new role within the show as a “storyteller” will take to the esplanade to guide them through the performance. Scottish actor Terence Rae will also spotlight the local heroes who are working to make a difference to the community they serve, a special nod to the charitable ethos of the Tattoo that it has held since 1950.

Mr Rae said: “It is an immense honour to be the Storyteller for the 75th-anniversary show of the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo – The Heroes Who Made Us. I’m excited to play my part in a show which celebrates all those who have shaped the Tattoo's history over the past 75 years.”

Major Stevie Small, MBE, Tattoo associate director and Corporal Tegan Moisenko from the Band of the Royal Regiment of Scotland at the launch of The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo 75th anniversary show, to take place this August. | Lisa Ferguspn

What other acts are performing?

The full list of confirmed acts is:

- The Band of The Royal Regiment of Scotland;

- British Army Band Catterick;

- British Army Band Tidworth;

- British Army Band Colchester;

- The Band of the Prince of Wales, Countess of Wessex Strings;

- Pipes and Drums of 1st Battalion Scots Guards;

- 2nd Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland;

- 3rd Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland;

- 4th Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland;

- The Pipes And Drums Of The Royal Corps Of Signals;

- Combined Universities Officer Training Corps Pipes and Drums;

- The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo Pipes and Drums;

- Crossed Swords Pipes & Drums;

- Paris Port Dover Pipes & Drums;

- The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo Dancers;

- The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo Fiddlers;

- Erskine Stewart's Melville Schools Choir;

- Ukrainian Children’s Choir;

- Sing in the City Choir;

- Top Secret Drum Corps;

- US Old Guard Fifes and Drum Corps;

- United States Air Force Honor Guard Drill Team;

- Ukraine Naval Forces Orchestra and The Representative Band of The Polish Border Guard.