Monday's a double red-letter day here at Ticket Alert.  It's the very last chance to get a seat at the Edinburgh Military Tattoo, as tickets for the dress rehearsal go on sale; meanwhile, Edinburgh residents will be getting online for passes to the end-of-festival fireworks.  And with masterly planning, these two long-awaited ticket releases are taking place at more or less the same time.

Tattoo preview tickets

First up, Monday's your last chance to get face-value tickets for the Edinburgh Military Tattoo.  The Tattoo's main run sold out a couple of weeks ago, but they've been holding back tickets for its "preview" - or as the less breathlessly enthusiastic might call it, the dress rehearsal.  The only date available is Thursday 5 August, at 9:30pm.  But the good news is that, because it's a preview, all tickets are half price.

Televised across the world, the Military Tattoo is by far the best-known single show of any of the Edinburgh Festivals.  A complete sell-out for the last ten years, the annual outdoor spectacle hosts a breathtaking programme drawn from across the Commonwealth - and it all happens in the spine-tingling surroundings of Edinburgh Castle's esplanade.

Tickets go on sale at 10am on Monday morning, and they won't last long, so we suggest you get on the case as soon as the big hand passes the hour.  They should be available both by phone - on 0131 225 1188 - and online at www.edinburgh-tattoo.co.uk.  If you're in Edinburgh, you can also present yourself at the Tattoo Office at 33-34 Market Street; confusingly, this is by Waverley Station, and nowhere near the Spirit of the Tattoo Visitor Centre on Castlehill.

To prepare yourself for Monday morning, take a look at the seating plan and pricing chart on the Tattoo's website - remembering that all tickets are half price.  Our original Ticket Alert from way back in December gives you our take on the best seats.

End-of-festival fireworks

Courtesy Stuart Buchanan

This year's display is on Sunday 5 September, when to live orchestral accompaniment, upwards of 100,000 pyrotechnics go up in the air in an intense 45-minute show.  Despite the refinement of the classical music, there's little subtle about the display: crescendo builds upon crescendo towards an impossible, light-drenched finale.

The show starts as the sun sets, and brings the curtain down on the Festival a little before 10pm.  There's only one type of ticket on sale, granting general admission to Princes Street Gardens at a flat rate of £11, and there's a limit of four per customer.  This batch of tickets is only available online - so to be in with a chance, be on the International Festival's website at 11am on Monday.