Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo Brisbane 2026
I have always wanted to see this, ever since I was little and living in the UK. The trouble was, London was a long way from Edinburgh, and we were never there at the right time! Imagine my excitement when I found out the tattoo was coming to Brisbane.
This was a historic event for Queensland and Brisbane. It is the first time the tattoo has been here and was marking its 75th anniversary. Imagine over 1000 performers from more than a dozen countries representing the military and cultural traditions of the world.
The show had performers arriving from the United Kingdom, Australia, Japan, Norway, Switzerland, Tonga, and the United States. From the first seconds, the atmosphere was electric. Imagine kilts, tartan, bagpipes, and marching tunes – I’m only just getting started!
The Massed Pipes and Drums opened the show with bagpipes and snare drums giving rise to a stadium reverberating in the Scottish music. It set the tone. Posts on social media comment on how being there put a depth of sound, volume, and tone to the night that you would miss if watching on tv. I must agree.
If I had to pick favourites, the Switzerland Top Secret Drum Corps would be up there at number one. Those guys can play. I’m not just talking playing drums; I am talking tossing drumsticks and playing the drum of the man next to them too.
I would also give a big shout to the Americans. They are always good. I have to say I would have loved to see an American rifle team do a drilling display, but hey, you can’t have everything.
We also saw the inclusion of Australian performers — notably the Queensland Police Pipes and Drums making their Tattoo debut, alongside bands from the Australian Defence Force and youth performers such as the Brisbane Boys’ College Pipe Band.
My positives:
– This was a once in a lifetime ‘bucket list’ event for me. It was just something so spectacular.
– It had an international flavour and that felt like a global response, bringing everyone together.
Any negatives?
– I’ve seen people comment about the Australians not being as “slick” as other units but I didn’t notice that.
– I would have loved to have seen more close up camera work on the big screen or the camera from above as is often used at the Broncos games.
The downside to Suncorp is that dependant on your choice of seat, you can find yourself in the rain. This was me. But even though I still hadn’t dried by the time I was back on the Sunshine Coast, I just figured it was a night worth getting wet for!
Overall, it was one hell of a memorable night. It was worth every penny to see it. The performance was a massive success. The sheer ambition of bringing something like this across the world, pulling over 1000 performers together, and showing everything so professionally, is to be applauded.
