Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo, what a wonderfully impressive spectacle of meticulously crafted pageantry, choreographed with precision down to the last detail.
This year in Edinburgh marked the 75th year of celebration, held in August of each year. Every five to ten years they take the show on a tour of the some of the Commonwealth countries.
The last time in New Zealand was 2016 when it was held at the Westpac Stadium in Wellington and had a four-day residency, being attended by well over 80,000 people.
In iconic Eden Park this February, it occupies three nights up to Saturday 21 February 2026.
Truly a family affair this evening as it encompasses pre-schoolers, a diversity of races and ethnicities and a healthy number of the elderly. The mood is buoyant and jubilant as very soon the numbers on the pitch will dwarf the usual retinue of sports teams and their support crew that we are used to. This is an occasion as we have never experienced prior.
At the Sandringham Rd end of the park is constructed a massive screen which projects the façade of the historic Edinburgh Castle. Back in the Home Country, the pageant is played out on the Castle Esplanade.
We commence with a welcoming powhiri by selected representatives of Ngāti Whatua Orakei, and the Te Matatini Kapa Haka Group.
A robust haka is performed, maybe not as aggressive as the All Black one when they will be facing the Springboks in a few months’ time on this ground this year.
Governor-General Dame Cindy Kiro is present to accept the ceremonial welcome on behalf of the Crown and the British Royal Family.
From the base of the castle backdrop emerge a multitude of performers. Twelve lines of members from pipe and drum squads. The eerie jubilant keening and wailing pipes arising from the military percussive precision of snares and bass drums, which anchor the essential rhythm.
These pipe and drum bands are immaculately draped in colourful costume, but it is the sharp white lines of trousers which stand out.
Whilst forming up in lines and then moving through elaborate march formations, they play a medley of tunes all synced in with meticulous precision.
The sounds of the Big Band era, Mediterranean airs with plenty of jazzy references. Trumpets, trombone and tubas. A lot of it sounds like James Bond movie theme music.
Tutira Mai Nga Iwi is performed by the massed ensemble. Written in the Fifties by Wiremu Te Hou Huata, who was a New Zealand Military chaplain for the 28th Maori Battalion when they fought in World War II. They also cover Pokarekare Ana.
Of course, we hear the national anthems of God Save the King and God Defend New Zealand.
Bagpipes return in triumph to conclude with Auld Lang Syne.
The combined performers come from many parts of the world. Army bands of the New Zealand, Australian and British Defence Forces, pipe and drum bands from a wide diaspora, Police bands, defence forces from the European continent.
A few take extended cameos.
The United States Marine Drums and Bugle Corps are striking with their red and white outfits on the Lincoln green turf.
His Majesty’s Armed Forces the Royal Corps of Musicians Tonga also break out their own traditional haka style dance, with some performers in tribal dress. They reprise Tutira Mai Nga Iwi.
His Majesty the Kings Guard Band and Drill Team Norway perform a beautifully syncopated marching routine which is a great dance in itself.
The New Zealand Army Band pushes out with big band routines and some of the cadences of Boogie-Woogie Bugle Boy.
The most supremely choreographed may be the Top Secret Drum Corp from Switzerland. A stark rumble from the bass drums give an ominous edge to the massed snares. They act out a battle sequence. The crack of gunfire is heard, and we see the sparks of fireworks that follow.
We get a real highland dance interlude with a large female troupe which I assume are mostly drawn from Australia and the UK with a few Kiwis in the mix. The majority are female.
As the dancers do their fling, on the big screen are Pop Art graphics and cartoon swingers prancing like Travolta and Thurman from Pulp Fiction.
The Japan Air Self Defence Force Control Band include four sousaphone players. A beautiful female solo vocal caps their routine with a stratospherically high note sustain to finish.
The Royal Australian Air Force Band break into a version of Men From Down Under and then continue with a fair dose of Rock music licks and riffs.
Getting near the close and the Te Matatini Kapa Haka Group start with a lamenting waiata and follow up with a melodic poi dance.
The combined bands all return to the turf, and it is a thrilling sight.
The narrator reminds us of the sacrifices and horrors of the second World War and the origin of the Tattoo commemoration in the mid Fifties.
The theme for this show is The Heroes Who Made Us, inclusive of race, ethnicity and gender. The clouds and moon on the backdrop screen give way to the bright orange sun.
We cannot be defined by war. The light that shines on open minds.
There is a lone piper signalling the homecoming of sorrow, but the finale is an explosion of pipe and drums and the massed instruments as everyone is back on the field.
A large fireworks display brings the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo to its conclusion.
Rev. Orange Peel