# Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo to donate £1 million to arts and armed services charities

- Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/2017/10/07/royal-edinburgh-military-tattoo-donate-1m-arts-armed-services-charities/
- Published: 2017-10-07T10:16:01+01:00
- Author: Howard Lake

**Arts and armed forces charities will receive donations totalling £1 million from
the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo, following the annual event’s 19th consecutive
sell-out year.**

This is the largest sum the event organisers have donated to charity in a single
year. The total donated by the military spectacle since it started in 1950 now stands
at **over £10 million**.

The Tattoo is performed to a live audience of 220,000 annually on the Esplanade 
of Edinburgh Castle with a further global TV audience of over 100 million. It was
renamed The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo in 2010 after Her Majesty The Queen 
bestowed the Royal title in honour of its 60th anniversary.

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## Service charities

The Tattoo will contribute **£725,000** to 11 armed services beneficiaries, including:

 * ABF – The Soldiers’ Charity
 * The RAF Benevolent Fund
 * The Royal Navy and Royal Marines Charity
 * Scottish National War Memorial
 * Seafarers UK
 * Combat Stress
 * Royal Commonwealth Ex-Services League
 * the Army Piping Committee
 * and a number of Service personnel welfare funds.

## Arts organisations

Donations to arts organisations has increased this year with six organisations set
to receive a share of £275,000. These include:

 * Creative Scotland
 * the City of Edinburgh Culture Project Fund, who will oversee two new arts funds.

**Creative Scotland** will receive **£150,000** to create a piping, drumming, fiddle
and Highland dance fund, encouraging affinities with Scotland’s traditional music
scene. The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo Talent Development Fund will launch in
mid-October to tie in to Scotland’s Year of Young People in 2018.

**The City of Edinburgh Council Culture Project Fund** will receive **£50,000**.
The first phase was launched in January to support the city’s new Culture Plan, 
adopted by the Council last year.

The Tattoo donation will fund the second phase development of new performing arts
work in Edinburgh that demonstrates a local or citywide importance and develops 
partnerships working within the city’s cultural sector.  [The Fund opened for applications](https://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/info/20203/funding_opportunities/866/developing_the_arts_in_edinburgh)
on 6 October.

Brigadier David Allfrey MBE, Chief Executive and Producer of The Royal Edinburgh
Military Tattoo, said: “The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo has proudly been a charitable
organisation supporting Armed Services charities and the Arts since 1950, donating
over £10 million over the years.

“We are hugely excited that this is the second year in which we are able to pledge
donations of £1 million and for the first time focusing solely on United Kingdom
beneficiaries.  For us this is a major milestone and underpins our determination
to make an ever greater contribution, while growing the Tattoo’s impact and value
both in Edinburgh and further afield.”

 

_Main image: The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo_

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## Comments

### By: HowardLake

- Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/2017/10/07/royal-edinburgh-military-tattoo-donate-1m-arts-armed-services-charities/#comment-3170
- Published: 2017-11-10T10:42:00+00:00

The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo and Creative Scotland have today, Friday 10 
November, launched the Youth Talent Development Fund.
 Established from the charitable
giving of The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo, the Fund aims to nurture the ambition,
enthusiasm and talent of exceptional young artists (aged 8-26) engaged in traditional
music and dance – focusing on piping, drumming, Highland dance and traditional fiddle
playing. The Fund is open to Scottish-based arts and cultural organisations for 
participants to benefit from the development of artistic skills, innovative creative
collaborations, the creation of new composition and/or choreography and the transfer
of skills from experienced tutors. Organisations can apply for between £10,000 and
£20,000. The deadline for applications is 29 January 2018\. Successful candidates
will be announced in Early April 2018 with activities coinciding with The Year of
Young People 2018\. [http://www.creativescotland.com/REMTYouthTalentFund](http://www.creativescotland.com/REMTYouthTalentFund)