Exclusive:Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo focus on US army band branded 'out of step' with public opinion

The United States Army Field Band is to perform the “best of Americana” at this year’s Tattoo, to mark what the head of the event described as a “vital and important” relationship between the US and the UK.

Stop the War Scotland branded the decision “out of step with public opinion” and warned the Tattoo should not hold a “celebration” of the US military in the current geopolitical climate.

A showcase launch for this year's event, to be held on Edinburgh Castle esplanade from August 7-29, also revealed performances from Qatar, Germany and New Zealand, as well as the regular pipes and drums and massed military bands.

Announcing the theme of this year’s Tattoo as A Call To Gather, chief executive Jason Barrett told The Scotsman the American content of the programme had been finalised “long before” President Trump’s attacks on Iran. He insisted the Tattoo is “politically agnostic”.

He said: “This is, of course, incredibly topical. We discuss all acts when they come, their place in the world and what’s happening.

“We’ve had American acts most years, if they want to come over. It’s a relationship that is 250 years old and vital and important. Our job is to create the best show possible. The American military has a lot of bands that are ready, willing and extremely capable to entertain and that’s why we bring them over.”

However, Mr Barrett told The Scotsman the Tattoo is involved in "soft diplomacy" driven by the UK Government to build bridges between nations, saying the Tattoo is regarded as “one of the best...engagement platforms for the Ministry of Defence”.

He said: “With America and the stakeholder engagement, people are beginning to view, at the highest level of UK PLC - not only the Ministry of Defence, but the Department of Business and Trade or the Scotland Office - the Tattoo as this very unique, convening authority that brings people together through the lens of soft power and soft diplomacy.

“That is something that has evolved over time and has happened organically, but now we’re bringing a bit more intention to it and thinking what can we do to help in that regard, whether it be diplomatic channels, militaries who work together, businesses or arts. We don’t try to overengineer or control that, we try to create a platform that allows for that.”

Mr Barrett said he speaks regularly to contacts within the MoD to find out where governmental "interests" lie. If they align with those of the Tattoo, he will target nations for potential involvement in the military show.

He added: “For instance, if an engagement priority in any of those different ministries exist, then we ask that question and we say, ‘that’s interesting’, because we have interest in bringing a band over from that country and we’ve created an environment for some great conversations to occur.

“If their interests align with us, artistically, then we look at that as a win-win.”

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Sophie Johnson, secretary of Stop the War Scotland, said she believed a celebration of the US military was not appropriate in the current climate.

She said: “I think this is wildly out of step with public opinion. There’s a very strong mood in this country that we are living in very dangerous times. People are rightly concerned about the impact of war at home and most people understand that it is the US that is driving us into a really unstable period.

“There is a growing demand that we should have nothing to do with US foreign policy. People overwhelmingly view militarisation as a concerning thing and the mood at the moment is not one of celebration for military adventurism at all. The fact there is a celebration of US and British militarism together is out of step with public opinion and people will be affronted by this.”

Tattoo creative director Alan Lane said the event, now in its 76th year, was a chance for nations to unite through music and art.

He said: “Our audiences and our performers come together from all over the world on the Esplanade and there has never been a more important time for us to be brought together by culture and a celebration of the cultures that we share.

“When the world is tense, people who have the ability to reconvene through arts and culture must do that and the show does that. We will have Qataris and Americans and Germans, Kiwis and Scots and everything in between on that Esplanade, understanding that there is more that unites us than divides us and that’s such a powerful and important thing to understand at the minute. It doesn’t solve any of the problems, but it sets the context.”

He added: “We had American colleagues here recently and they absolutely understand the importance of, while not undermining their chain of command, maintaining their links, their contacts and their sense of good faith.”

Mr Barrett said the organisation was not yet concerned with a potential impact on tourism due to the war in Iran and rising fuel prices. Around 45 per cent of ticket sales for the Tattoo are to overseas visitors, with around 20 per cent coming from the US.

He said the commercial situation would be monitored, while there would be an increased focus on attracting a domestic audience, including deals for locals during less busy performances and family-focused matinee performances aimed at local crowds.

“As a business, we try to pay attention to the market so whenever there are global factors, instability out of our control, we want to pay attention to what people’s appetite might be to travel,” he said.

“In this instance, there are not yet indications that worry us. It is a challenging time for travel, with air fares and oil prices and we’re not immune to that and we’ll look at how that will affect our ticket sales.

“We want strong relationships with Edinburgh and the Scottish market.”