<P> The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo is an annual series of military tattoos performed by British Armed Forces, Commonwealth and international military bands and artistic performance teams on the esplanade of Edinburgh Castle in the capital of Scotland . The event is held each August as part of the Edinburgh Festival . </P> <P> The term "tattoo" derives from a 17th - century Dutch phrase doe den tap toe ("turn off the tap") a signal to tavern owners each night, played by a regiment's Corps of Drums, to turn off the taps of their ale kegs so that the soldiers would retire to their billeted lodgings at a reasonable hour . With the establishment of modern barracks and full military bands later in the 18th century, the term "tattoo" was used to describe the last duty call of the day, as well as a ceremonial form of evening entertainment performed by military musicians . </P> <P> The first public military tattoo in Edinburgh was entitled "Something About a Soldier" and took place at the Ross Bandstand, Princes Street Gardens, in 1949 . The first official Edinburgh Military Tattoo was held in 1950 with eight items in the programme . It drew some 6,000 spectators seated in simple bench and scaffold structures around the north, south, and east sides of the Edinburgh Castle esplanade . In 1952, the capacity of the stands was increased to accommodate a nightly audience of 7,700, allowing 160,000 to watch the multiple live performances . </P> <P> Since the 1970s on average, just over 217,000 people see the Tattoo live on the esplanade of Edinburgh Castle each year, and it has sold out in advance for the last decade . 30% of the audience are from Scotland and 35% from the rest of the United Kingdom . The remaining 35% of the audience consists of 70,000 visitors from overseas . </P>

When was the first edinburgh military tattoo held