The Edinburgh Military Tattoo
7 - 29 August 2009 

Another of the Edinburgh Festival's annual rituals is almost complete, as the Edinburgh Military Tattoo heads for its traditional early sell-out.  Five full months before its opens, tickets for the Tattoo's three-week run are now all but gone - with just a few single seats remaining for this year's show.

Running from 7 to 29 August this year, the incomparable musical display of pageantry and precision is played to packed houses nightly, on the spectacular Esplanade of Edinburgh Castle.  A favourite of coach parties and locals alike, the Tattoo is always the first Festival event to sell out - and despite fears of the credit crunch, this year's show will prove no exception.

As well as the smattering of single seats, there are also restricted-view tickets left for most performances; in many cases there's just a handrail in the way, so it's well worth calling to ask what's on offer.  The Tattoo's box office is on 0131 225 1188, but before you call, check the latest availability chart on their website.

The preview

Though the main run is all but sold out now, you can still get an excellent seat for the Tattoo's dress rehearsal or "preview".  The press photographers scurrying in front of the marching bands lend the preview a slightly surreal air, but it's still a great opportunity to see the show - performed, of course, in its usual home in front of Edinburgh Castle.

This year's preview is on Thursday 6 August, tickets will go on sale on Monday 29 July... and the best news of all is that they're all half price.  If you'd like us to remind you towards the end of July, sign up for our low-volume mailing list, Ticket Alert.

Hospitality packages and the secondary market

If you're desperate to get into the Tattoo and can't make the preview, you could take a look at hospitality packages - widely advertised on the Internet (just search for "Edinburgh Tattoo" to find them).  These legitimate packages bundle a Tattoo ticket with a selection of additional services, ranging from a night in a five-star hotel to a simple bus tour of the city.  The mark-up on the tickets' face value can be eye-watering, but these packages are still worth considering if the extras appeal to you too.

One final, controversial option is the so-called "secondary market", run by websites like seatwave.com.  In theory, these sites provide a marketplace for genuine customers who've accidentally ended up with too many tickets - though the suspicion is, of course, that many of those selling online meant to do it all along.  Be aware that the prices are seriously inflated and, while it's perfectly legal to sell these tickets, selling above face value is against the Tattoo's sales conditions.  They're within their rights to cancel the tickets, and they have acted against online sales before now.

There's more to come

While the Tattoo is the largest single show in Edinburgh's August calendar, it's just one of ten separate Festivals to hit the city this summer.  Most of them will be finalizing their programmes over the next couple of months, and opening their box offices in June.  But there's no need to miss a thing - for full details of all this summer's programme launches, just sign up for FringeGuru's Ticket Alert.