Edinburgh Tattoo to return to Australia with Castle replica

The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo will return to Australia - taking Edinburgh Castle with it.

Performers will stage the show for four nights in Sydney next October, set against the backdrop of a full-size replica facade of the famous castle.

The Tattoo travelled to Australia and New Zealand in 2016 with performances in Melbourne and Wellington, while future tours of Canada and China have been earmarked before 2021.

The Sydney shows in the ANZ Stadium will feature the Australian Defence Force and a host of international performers, as well as Tattoo regulars.

Brigadier David Allfrey, chief executive at The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo, said: "It is a huge privilege for us to be invited to stage a Tattoo that stands to be bigger and more extraordinary than ever before.

"Edinburgh remains our guiding light and our heartland. But, to enable the business to thrive commercially - benefiting audiences at home and abroad - we are strengthening our operation and building creative partnerships that will help us share our brand, values and standards with new audiences across the world.

"In 2020, we will have been running for 70 years and having sold out for the last 20 seasons consecutively, there is a sense that ever more people want to connect with us.

"We are all about bringing people together and never has this been more important.

"At our core, we are a charitable organisation and securing the Australia show means we can further strengthen our business model and, most importantly, can continue to deliver on charitable and social commitments which at present are set at #1 million each year going forward.''

New South Wales Tourism Minister Adam Marshall said: "The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo has a proud history of delivering world-class, public military event which entertain and inspire people all over the world.

"I am delighted the NSW Government has secured this event which is expected to attract more than 59,000 overnight visitors to Sydney and deliver an estimated 37 million Australian dollars (20.95 million) in visitor expenditure.'