Every year, an average of 217,000 people gather at Edinburgh Castle in order to watch the famous Military Tattoo. Begun in the year 1950 with just eight items in the program, the Military Tattoo has gone from strength to strength over the years. Now an average of 1000 participants strutting their stuff at Edinburgh Castle are regularly watched on television by millions of people world wide.

Many of the people who gather to view the event up close and personal are not locals but have journeyed from every corner of the globe in order to see it. Named for the call to close shop in the inns in the 17th century, the famous Edinburgh Military Tattoo is not just a local affair. Each year, visiting regiments also come to display their musical prowess. The first overseas regiment that participated was the Band of the Royal Netherlands Grenadiers in 1952. Canada and France also had performers participating in that same year. As the years have passed over 30 countries have been represented at the Tattoo.

This Scottish event is so popular that it has been a complete sell out for the last six years. It has donated some ￡5 million to charity during its running and to date, not a single Tattoo performance has been cancelled despite unsavory weather conditions - a fact which the Scots are rather proud of. Rehearsals for the event take place at Redford Barracks and the event is always one well worth seeing.

每年，平均有217000名觀眾會聚愛丁堡城堡（Edinburgh Castle），觀看聞名遐邇的愛丁堡軍樂表演。這個表演始于1950年，當時只有八個項目，多年來，它不斷發展壯大。而如今，全世界有數百萬觀眾通過電視，定期觀看由1000名表演者在愛丁堡城堡帶來的精彩表演。

每年都有來自全球的各個角落，為一睹其真容而至此的各國游人會聚于此，與這一活動“零距離接觸”。著名的軍樂隊表演源自17世紀旅館商店關門的聲音，它不僅僅是一件當地的大事，每年，都有很多訪問團到此一展他們高超的音樂技藝。1952年，第一支海外樂團Royal Netherlands Grenadiers樂隊參加了該節，同年還有來自加拿大和法國的表演者參與。隨著時間的推移，已經有超過30個國家的表演者在軍樂儀隊表演上亮相。

這個具有蘇格蘭特點的活動如此盛行，以至于近6年來成為了一個很大的亮點。從舉辦至今，這個活動已經為慈善機構募集了五百萬英鎊。令蘇格蘭人津津樂道的是，即使是在最惡劣的天氣，也從未取消過軍樂儀隊表演，可謂風雨無阻。這個表演的排演通常在Redford Barracks兵營進行，當然最后的表演絕對值得一看。


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