When the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo last marched into New Zealand, it attracted an audience of 82,000 over four nights at Wellington’s Cake Tin. In 2016, the nearly 1300 performers came from seven countries. Just over half of them were from New Zealand, including the members of seven pipe bands, seven kapa haka groups, Highland dancing troupes and the brass bands from each branch of the New Zealand Defence Force.
From the UK came a contingent of nearly 300, including pipe bands from six battalions, three British armed forces brass bands and the tattoo’s own Highland dance troupe. Additionally, there were bands from Fiji, Tonga, Australia, Norway and Switzerland.
Now the tattoo is returning in bigger numbers, this time to Auckland’s Eden Park, where it will play three nights next February. That makes it likely to be New Zealand’s biggest show of the summer – its only outdoor stadium competition so far is Metallica’s one-night stand at the same venue in November.
The line-up for the tattoo, which is also playing in Brisbane, is still being finalised, but it’s likely to draw a similar ratio of locals to imports as last time. When it comes to the all-in massed pipes and drums, the producers have come to the right place – per capita, New Zealand has as many grade-one pipe bands as Scotland.
Under warm skies in mid-May, a lone piper plays Auld Lang Syne to the surrounding suburb atop Eden Park’s Samsung (south) stand. Below, politicians, representatives of Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei, media, promoters and businesspeople have gathered under the west stand for the tattoo announcement. It’s this end of the field that will have a facade of Edinburgh Castle’s portcullis gate as backdrop to the show taking place on the pitch.
Attending as Defence Minister, Judith Collins promises the Auckland weather will be brilliant for it “and if not, the mayor will be at fault”. Mayor Wayne Brown takes it in good heart (“I accept that”) and speaks of “the hallowed ground” of the national stadium.
Tattoo CEO Jason Barrett – originally from Colorado – also invoked the “hallowed ground in front of the castle and here where the All Blacks play”.
The tattoo’s forthcoming Edinburgh season in August marks its 75th anniversary. Last year, the 26 performances on the forecourt of Edinburgh Castle were seen by 9000 people a night. It’s estimated another 100 million now watch it on television.
“People use the word ‘iconic’ about the tattoo,” says Barrett. “We like that.”
The theme for the event is The Heroes Who Made Us, and Barrett is quick to note that means more than military heroes “but also those who put service above themselves; the heroes every day mentoring young people”.
With a long history of pipe bands, Highland dance, military and cultural performers, the tattoo brings out enthusiastic responses: none more ardent than proudly kilted Englishman Alan Lane, the recently appointed – and first ever – creative director for the tattoo.
With an impressive background in theatre and directing events and outdoor shows with non-professional performers, Lane brings a unique perspective as the tattoo looks to diversify into theatres, presenting smaller and more frequent versions.
“They were looking for someone excited about their expansion, and to make it work on different scales and in different markets. That’s partly my background … so we found each other.”
Lane, an army reservist, saw a tattoo as a child but it was later, as a young theatre director, the power and obvious success of the event hit him. It had an audience, a cast, an RAF jet flypast.
When Lane speaks of the show, he uses the language of theatre: “If you’re an army officer you’re going to see it one way; if you’re a theatre director you’re probably going to see it in acts and scenes. But it’s the same thing: narrative and storytelling.”
That said, although the next tattoo will be profoundly different, it has to honour its history, which it does in the “first act”.
Many have fond memories of a tattoo and “come to it as a kind of church, they come because they want to remember. So you have to deliver the greatest hits but then give them something they didn’t ask for.
“It’s the best annual show in Britain; it’s just the business,” he says with a laugh. But he won’t be drawn on whether the Eden Park event will be televised locally or if there will be a fly-over: “Above my pay grade.”
Although we live in troubled times, Barrett and Lane argue the tattoo transcends politics.
“In a world that can appear more divided than ever,” Barrett tells the group at Eden Park, “the tattoo brings people together. Culture can be a coalescing force.”
Lane echoes the sentiment. “One of the things important for someone in my position is to look at the politics of art, not the politics of politics. The show is people doing the thing they are celebrated for. And the tattoo’s job is to connect people, whether that be artists, audiences, governments or gallery.
“The VIP boxes have always been places where people talk with each other.”
After discussions with Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei, Lane speaks of “how much is similar between say, Scottish traditional culture and Ngāti Whātua – that’s exciting. You’d think you’d be completely different, but we’re the same in many ways and it’s all about the heartbeat.”
His eyes light up with the mention of the haka. “Our finale – the third act – is always a combination of different nations and cultural communities. That’s one of the thrilling things for the audience.
“That is what the tattoo is about – connecting people artistically as well as culturally.”
Kapa haka groups first travelled to Scotland to perform in the tattoo in 2014. The New Zealand Army Band has been many times.
The local Scottish diaspora – nearly 20% of New Zealanders claim Scottish ancestry – was represented at the launch by snare drummer Lance Rairi, a funeral director from Hamilton, and dancer Kayla McQuoid from Taranaki. Both performed at last year’s Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo at Edinburgh Castle.
Rairi – mother Scottish, father from the Cook Islands – attended St Andrew’s College in Christchurch, initially played bagpipes but admits to banging pots and pans as a child. He “tried rock bands” but his natural inclination was to Scottish music. “And I’d seen the tattoo on TV and really wanted to be a participant in the future.”
He has played in numerous New Zealand pipe bands and last year, in the 80-strong Royal Edinburgh Military Band that draws members from around the globe, stepped out in Scotland for the month-long tattoo.
“Every night you come out of the Edinburgh Castle gates you feel the electricity and energy and the tension and expectation of the crowd. The atmosphere is thick, almost like a fog. It’s terrifying in a very good way; it brings the best out of you. You gather strength from everyone around you. It’s hard to explain unless you’ve actually done it.”
Like Rairi, Highland dancer McQuoid felt the cultural calling early. Her family includes pipers and she’s been involved in Scottish dancing for 21 years now, from age 4. It has been a huge commitment learning the various styles of dance (traditional Highland, jigs, the sword dance, fling and reels) and studying the history of the culture.
A nurse by profession (“yes, on my feet all day”) and a qualified teacher of Highland dance, she has been to Scotland seven times, performed at the tattoo in Wellington and was at Edinburgh Castle last August for “26 shows, the whole month, with a double show on Saturdays”.
As with Rairi, she’s auditioning again but is excited by the Eden Park event. “Bringing the tattoo here encourages young people and those teaching [Highland dance] to keep going because performing at it seems achievable.”
So, “The Greatest Show on Earth”, as it’s being marketed? Lane – who considers the tattoo a huge community theatre event – characterises the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo at Eden Park with typical enthusiasm: “Bigger, better … and longer,” he says.
“And there are things in this show that will happen only here.”
The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo, Eden Park, Auckland, February 19, 20 & 21, 2026.
