Basel Tattoo

Last updated
Basel Tattoo
Programm 1.jpg
Basel Tattoo parade in 2011
Created byErik Julliard [1]
Starring Top Secret Drum Corps
Blue Devils International Corps (2015)
Country of originSwitzerland
No. of episodes15
Production
Production locations Basel
Switzerland
Running time2 Hours
Release
Original network Schweizer Radio und Fernsehen
Original release2006 (2006) 
present

Basel Tattoo is an annual military tattoo show performed by International military bands, display teams, popular musicians, and tattoo formations in Basel, Switzerland.

Contents

Since 2006, Basel Tattoo has had annual stage-arena performances within the Basel Kaserne (old barracks) (now also known as Basel Tattoo Arena) and hosts two parades in July. The Basel Tattoo parade, with an estimated 125,000 visitors, is considered the largest event. [1]

History

The Basel Tattoo was started in 2006 by the local Top Secret Drum Corps. It has grown to be the world's second largest military tattoo in terms of performers and budget after the Edinburgh Military Tattoo. [2] [3] The event is now sponsored by the Swiss Federal Department of Defence, Civil Protection and Sport (DDPS), making it the official military tattoo of Switzerland. [4]

Top Secret Drum Corps at the 2009 Basel Tattoo Top Secret Drum Corps.jpg
Top Secret Drum Corps at the 2009 Basel Tattoo

In 2008, the Basel Tattoo began holding a parade in Basel to showcase the performers to a wider audience. A second parade was added in Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany the following year. [5]

In 2012, the Basel Tattoo festival had about 2,000 performers and was seen by 260,000 people during 15 live stage-arena performances and two parades. [6]

In 2014, 120,000 spectators attended the performances at Basel Tattoo Arena, 125,000 viewed the parades in Basel and Freiburg, and 450,000 viewers watched a televised presentation on SRF 1. [7]

In 2015, 15 arena performances in nine days will feature 30 performing acts from Switzerland, Australia, Canada, Germany, Ireland, Italy, New Zealand, Oman, South Africa, South Korea, the United Kingdom (groups from England and Scotland) and the United States. [8] One of the main highlights is expected to be the performances of the Blue Devils International Corps, a 97-member drum and bugle corps made up of alumni of the 16–time Drum Corps International (DCI) world champion Blue Devils Drum and Bugle Corps of Concord, California and eight other DCI World Class corps.

2015 performance

The eleventh annual Basel Tattoo had 30 formations from five continents giving 15 performances over nine days.

From Friday, July 17 through Saturday, July 25, 2015, a total of 15 shows were planned with an estimated 120,000 visitors. [4]

Scheduled performers (2015): [8]

In addition to the stage performances in the Basel Kaserne (old barracks), the 2015 Basel Tattoo also has following shows:

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Military band</span> Class of musical ensembles

A military band is a group of personnel that performs musical duties for military functions, usually for the armed forces. A typical military band consists mostly of wind and percussion instruments. The conductor of a band commonly bears the title of Bandmaster or Music director. Ottoman military bands are thought to be the oldest variety of military marching bands in the world, dating from the 13th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo</span> Annual series of military tattoos

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 one of the Edinburgh Festivals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Drum rudiment</span> Rhythm exercise

In rudimental drumming, a form of percussion music, a drum rudiment is one of a number of relatively small patterns which form the foundation for more extended and complex drumming patterns. The term "drum rudiment" is most closely associated with various forms of field drumming, where the snare drum plays a prominent role. In this context "rudiment" means not only "basic", but also fundamental. This tradition of drumming originates in military drumming and it is a central component of martial music.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beating retreat</span> Military Ceremony

Beating Retreat is a military ceremony dating to 17th-century England and was first used to recall nearby patrolling units to their castle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Military tattoo</span> Musical display of armed forces

A military tattoo is a performance of music or display of armed forces in general. The term comes from the early 17th-century Dutch phrase doe den tap toe, a signal sounded by drummers or trumpeters to instruct innkeepers near military garrisons to stop serving beer and for soldiers to return to their barracks and is unrelated to the Tahitian origins of an ink tattoo.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Old Guard Fife and Drum Corps</span> Military band of the U.S. Army

The United States Army Old Guard Fife and Drum Corps is one of four premier musical organizations of the United States Army. Members perform using musical instruments and wearing uniforms similar to those used by military musicians of the Continental Army during the American Revolution.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Top Secret Drum Corps</span> Percussion display group from Basel, Switzerland

Top Secret Drum Corps is a drum corps based in Basel, Switzerland. With 25 drummers and colour guard section, the corps became famous for its demanding six-minute routine performed at the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo in 2003. With its invitation to Edinburgh, Top Secret became one of the first non-military, non-British Commonwealth acts to perform on the Esplanade at Edinburgh Castle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Royal Swedish Navy Cadet Band</span>

The Royal Swedish Navy Cadet Band (RSwNCB) is a symphonic wind band with military traditions, and was created in 2002 as a non profit organization in cooperation with the Swedish Armed Forces Music Corps and the Royal Swedish Navy Band. The RSwNCB is the only young band in Sweden, alongside the former conscript bands, which has been approved for and performed at the ceremony of the Changing of the Royal Guards at the Stockholm Palace in Stockholm.

The Regimental Band and Pipes was founded on The Citadel campus in Charleston, South Carolina in 1909 with late marine general, Harry K. Pickett, in command. The marching band makes up one of the twenty-one companies of the South Carolina Corps of Cadets. In 1991, the band participated in the Edinburgh Military Tattoo in Edinburgh, Scotland becoming the first military college selected for the honor. They returned in 2010 as the only unit from the United States to appear at the Silver Jubilee of the Tattoo and appeared again in 2015.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Canadian military bands</span>

Canadian military bands are a group of personnel in the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) that performs musical duties for military functions. Military bands form a part of the Music Branch of the CAF, composed of six full-time professional Regular Force bands, 15 Regular Force voluntary bands, and 53 part-time reserve force bands. Bands of the Music Branch are often badged with the unit or Canadian Forces base insignia that they support.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sibel Arslan</span> Swiss lawyer and politician

Sibel Arslan is a Swiss lawyer and politician of the party BastA!.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New Zealand Army Band</span> Musical artist

The New Zealand Army Band is a brass band that primarily provides musical support for the New Zealand Army at all state and ceremonial occasions. It was founded in 1964 by Captain James Donald Carson (1935–2008) of the Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Band of the Royal Regiment of Scotland</span> Military unit

The Band of the Royal Regiment of Scotland is one of the three official military bands of the Royal Regiment of Scotland, and is based at Dreghorn Barracks, Edinburgh. The bandsmen wear the feather bonnet with a red over white hackle and scarlet doublet in full dress uniform. In addition, there are two Territorial bands, the Highland Band and the Lowland Band, which are administered by the regiment's territorial battalions. It is also one of two line infantry bands in the Royal Corps of Army Music.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bands of the South African National Defence Force</span>

There are currently 9 main military bands currently belonging to the South African National Defence Force (SANDF), which represent the different branches of the SANDF and providing music on ceremonial occasions. Since military bands were introduced in the country, they have played a prominent role in public and military life. Pipe bands also play an important role in South African military music, with notable pipe bands coming from the Cape Town Highlanders, Transvaal Scottish Regiment and the South African Military Health Service. Military bands of the SANDF are also affiliated with the police bands of the South African Police Service. In addition to military music, military bands in the SANDF perform different genres, including classical, jazz, pop and light music.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Omani Royal Guard Military Band</span> Musical Band in the Sultan of Omans Armed Forces

The Omani Royal Guard Military Band is the official music band of the Royal Guard of Oman and the seniormost military band of the Sultan of Oman's Armed Forces. It is specifically dedicated to providing ceremonial honours and music to the Sultan of Oman, the House of Al Said, and public officials.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Central Band of the Royal Malay Regiment</span> Regimental military band in the Malaysian Army

The Central Band of the Royal Malay Regiment is the official central band of the Malaysian Army's Royal Malay Regiment that is dedicated to providing ceremonial honours and music to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, the Prime Minister, the Chief Justice, the President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives. It is the Army's seniormost band. It is considered the equivalent to the 5 regimental bands of the Foot Guards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trinidad and Tobago Defence Force Steel Orchestra</span>

The Trinidad and Tobago Defence Force Steel Orchestra (TTDFSO) is a specialized military band that is part of the Trinidad and Tobago Defence Force. It has its roots in British traditions for military bands, all while also uniquely using unconventional instruments such as steelpans and other native Trinidadian instruments. The 40 member band is currently the only military steel band in the world.

Alfons Grieder was a Swiss rudimental drummer who spread awareness of the Basel Drumming style in America during the mid to late 20th century through his traveling, teaching, and publications.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eva Herzog</span> Swiss politician

Eva Herzog is a Swiss politician who has represented Basel-Stadt in the Council of States since 2019. She is a member of the Social Democratic Party (SP/PS).

<i>Platinum Jubilee Celebration: A Gallop Through History</i> Equestrian event, part of Queen Elizabeth IIs platinum Jubilee

Platinum Jubilee Celebration: A Gallop Through History was an equestrian event held in the grounds of Windsor Castle on four evenings from 12 to 15 May 2022, as part of Elizabeth II's Platinum Jubilee celebrations.

References

  1. 1 2 (in German) Russen statt Engländer am Basel Tattoo 2012. Basler Zeitung, written 2012-07-09, retrieved 2012-07-13
  2. Basel's tattoo spins to success. swissinfo.ch, written 2008-7-15, retrieved 2012-7-13
  3. "Basel: Famous events in Basel". tripadviser. Retrieved June 9, 2015.
  4. 1 2 "Event". Basel Tattoo. Retrieved June 9, 2015.[ permanent dead link ]
  5. (in German) Musiker von Basel Tattoo wirbeln Freiburg auf. Badische Zeitung, written 2010-20-14, retrieved 2012-07-14
  6. (in German) ein riesen Publikumsmagnet. Basler Zeitung, written 2012-7-21, retrieved 2012-7-21
  7. "Keep It Tribal : Basel Tattoo – 17 to 25 July 2015". Swiss Defence League. Retrieved June 9, 2015.
  8. 1 2 "Bands". Basel Tattoo. Retrieved June 9, 2015.[ permanent dead link ]