Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo: Bond, Brave and The Beano to feature in this year’s show

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 already emerged that Dennis the Menace and Minnie the Minx will be let loose at the event to cause regular bouts of mayhem during the show.

Among the star attractions are expected to be the Australian Defence Force band, the “Top Secret Drum Corps” band from the Swiss city of Basel, the King of Norway’s Guard and South Africa’s Cape Town Highlanders pipe band.

The event has been a complete sell-out for the last 13 years and organisers are hoping for another run of full houses despite a clash with much of the London Olympics.

Brigadier David Allfrey, the show’s producer, said the finale of this year’s performance would be dedicated to the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, with the audience being taken on a journey back to her coronation.

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 in the round over an extraordinary 60 years.

“In our production we have tried to play our part in the celebrations by focusing on the special sparkle in diamonds.”

The brigadier is urging audiences to “bling up” for the event by wearing sparkling outfits, tiaras and other dazzling accoutrements for the occasion, with the show’s climax also expected to feature a rendition of the classic Bond anthem “Diamonds Are Forever.”

Tickets for this year’s show, which runs from August 3-25, are still on sale.