VisitScotland: New partnership between The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo and the Scottish Diaspora

VisitScotland: New partnership between The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo and the Scottish Diaspora

 

Edinburgh, Scotland, 2016-Nov-28 — /Travel PR News/ — The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo has announced a new partnership with the Scottish Diaspora.

The partnership will look to ignite renewed interest in Scotland’s national fabric while at the same time reaching out to everyone with a link to Scotland: those that live in Scotland, those with a family connection, those visiting and those simply with an interest.

Taking inspiration from VisitScotland’s Year of History, Heritage and Archaeology and a Royal Navy lead, organisers unveiled the 2017 theme as Splash of Tartan at the closing of the spectacle’s final sell-out show in August this year. Splash of Tartan will be reinforced through a range of separate partnerships and initiatives, including a tie up with The National Museums of Scotland, The National Trust of Scotland and Historic Environment Scotland who are promoting its own emphasis on The Jacobites.

Each year, The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo stages its colourful show for a live audience of 220,000 against the backdrop of Edinburgh Castle, with a TV audience reaching 300 million. The most iconic scene of the Tattoo each year is the Massed Pipes and Drums. Drawn from the Scottish Regiments and across the world, they march across the Castle Drawbridge with tartan and uniforms aplenty, pipe banners fluttering and stirring tunes to the fore.Tattoo and Tartan are always seen together but now organisers want to go a stage further.

Clan Chiefs are being invited to lead their clansmen to the Castle, on their own special designated evenings, and to take part in the opening ceremony of the Tattoo.In addition, clans and families are being encouraged – with some support from the Scottish Government through the Scottish Clan Event Fund: Splash of Tartan – to arrange their own family events around Scotland.The Fund is being managed by EventScotland and applications are open until 9 January 2017. All of this will contribute to an already exciting and colourful summer for all visitors to Scotland.

Everyone who attends the Tattoo – whether they have a clan connection or not – is invited to dress for the part; a rich mixture of tartan clothes, headgear and accoutrements of all forms.Those looking to attend the Show without a clan or family connection are being encouraged to join in with the Clan festivities and enjoy the rich history, talismans and tartan of Scotland.

Brigadier David Allfrey, Chief Executive and Producer of The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo, said: “In the coming year when Scotland’s heritage and history are once again to the fore, Splash of Tartan offers a fabulous opportunity for everyone to get involved, dress the part and join in the celebration and pageantry at the Tattoo.

“We are looking to get the word out, not just across Scotland and the United Kingdom but to everyone abroad who is linked to Scotland – in whatever way – to join us in a remarkable set of celebrations in front of our great Castle at the heart of the City of Edinburgh.Kilts, trews, sporrans, plaids, hose and bonnets are all de rigeur.

“We hope the Tattoo will provide a perfect excuse for families to come together at the Show and further afield.We want everyone to celebrate their links with Scotland by looking the part in August.”

Malcolm Roughead, Chief Executive of VisitScotland, said: “Yet again, the Tattoo provides more than just a stage for stunning entertainment but a platform for tourism in Scotland. The 2017 Year of History Heritage and Archaeology will mark an important milestone for us all as we take a look back into our fascinating roots and explore yesteryear traditions. The ancestral market has huge potential for the Scottish economy, with millions of Scottish descendants across the globeand we hope that Splash of Tartan will ignite interest even further in this area and encourage people to explore their family roots, traditions and customs.”
Sir Malcolm MacGregor of MacGregor, 24th Chief of Clan Gregor, and Chieftain of the Children of the Mist, who has been instrumental in setting up the relationship, added: “Our partnership with The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo has been a long-time coming; it’s an excellent way to propel the fascinating history of Scotland’s clan heritage to the fore, and encourage others to explore their Scottish roots, of which there are many. The Clans and Families are steeped in history, but it is within a modern context and making it relevant for today that matters. It’s going to be a wonderful sight to witness people from the Highlands, Lowlands and Borders of Scotland and the world, descending on the iconic grounds of Edinburgh Castle, tartan aplenty!”

Clan members wishing to get involved with the event should contact their appropriate Clan Chief for further information. Details of Clan Chiefs can be found here: info@clanchiefs.org.uk

Notes to Editors

• Follow us on twitter: @visitscotnews
• VisitScotland is Scotland’s national tourism organisation. Its core purpose is to maximise the economic benefit of tourism to Scotland.
• The organisation’s core objective is to contribute to the Tourism 2020 Strategy ambition of growing tourism revenues by £1 billion by 2020.
• This will be supported by seven overarching strategies:
  1. Marketing: we will market Scotland and its outstanding assets to visitors from all parts of the world, including the promotion of Scotland to people living in Scotland       to visit different parts of the country
  2. Events: we will support the national events strategy and its delivery, and sustain, develop and promote Scotland’s international profile as one of the world’s foremost events destinations
  3. Internationalisation and International Engagement: we will utilise all our platforms to enable Scottish-based tourism businesses to better understand international       opportunities and market to a global audience and we will work within One Scotland Partnerships to optimise the potential of Scotland’s Diaspora and our strategic partners at regional, European and global levels
  4. Customer Experience: we will provide information and inspiration to visitors both locally and globally via their preferred medium of choice
  5. Quality and Sustainability: we will provide support and advice to businesses, with the goal of improving the quality and sustainability of the tourism sector in Scotland. We will provide quality assurance to visitors through our Quality Schemes
  6. Inclusive Tourism: we will strive to make tourism in Scotland inclusive and available to all
  7. Working in Partnership: we will listen to and work with the industry, partners and communities to shape our offering and support
• VisitScotland works together with tourism businesses to make tourism a success for everyone and ensure the industry continues to grow.
• The organisation employs 700 people and has offices and VisitScotland Information Centres across Scotland.
• Spending by tourists in Scotland generates around £12 billion of economic activity in the wider Scottish supply chain and contributes around £6 billion to Scottish GDP (in basic prices). This represents about 5% of total Scottish GDP.
• The Scottish Government is the Managing Authority for the European Structural Funds 2014-20 Programme. For further information visit www.gov.scot or follow @scotgovESIF
• For VisitScotland’s press releases go to http://www.visitscotland.org/media_centre.aspx, tourism statistics and frequently asked questions go to http://www.visitscotland.org/
• Where possible, a Gaelic speaker will be made available for broadcast interviews on request (Far an tèid iarraidh, agus far am bheil sin nar comas, bruidhinnidh neach le Gàidhlig aig agallamh)
• For holiday information on Scotland go to www.visitscotland.com
• For information about business events in Scotland go to www.conventionscotland.com

2017 Year of History, Heritage and Archaeology

• 2017 is the year to delve into the past and discover Scotland’s fascinating stories through a wide-ranging variety of new and existing activity to drive the nation’s tourism and events sector, boosting tourism across Scotland.
• The Year of History, Heritage and Archaeology begins on 1 January 2017 and will end on 31 December 2017.
• It will build on the momentum generated by previous themed years in Scotland including the 2015 Year of Food and Drink, Homecoming Scotland 2014, the Year of Creative and the Year of Natural.
• The Year of History, Heritage and Archaeology is a Scottish Government initiative being led by VisitScotland, and supported by a variety of partners including Creative Scotland, Scottish Tourism Alliance, Scottish Enterprise, The National Trust for Scotland, Historic Environment Scotland, Highlands and Islands Enterprise, Built Environment Forum Scotland, Heritage Lottery Fund, Museums Galleries Scotland and Traditional Arts and Culture Scotland.
• The Year of History, Heritage and Archaeology is supported by £570,000 of Scottish Government funding.
• The Year of History, Heritage and Archaeology events fund is managed by EventScotland, part of VisitScotland’s Events Directorate.
• For more information visit visitscotland.com/HHA2017 or join the conversation at #HHA2017
• For more on Ancestral Tourism research go to: http://www.visitscotland.org/research_and_statistics/tourism_sectors/ancestral_tourism.aspx

Contact:

Barbara Clark
Head of Corporate Communications
Corporate Media, Partnership Communications, Internal Communications
Barbara.Clark@visitscotland.com
0131 472 2212
Out of hours – 0131 472 2324

Source: Visit Scottland

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