# Basel Tattoo

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

## 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. 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.
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.
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.
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.
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. 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.
Scheduled performers (2015):
* 102 Battalion REME Pipes and Drums– United Kingdom
* Ailsa Craig Highland Dancers– Scotland
* Band of the Royal Regiment of Scotland– Scotland
* Basel Tattoo Choir– Switzerland
* Basel Tattoo Garde– Switzerland
* Basler Mittwoch-Gesellschaft– Switzerland
* Blue Devils International Corps– United States
* Castle Stars Irish Dancers– Ireland
* Chloë Agnew– Ireland
* Drums and Pipes of the Aberdeen Universities Officers' Training Corps– Scotland
* Drums and Pipes of the Cape Town Highlanders– South Africa
* Egon Eggemann– Switzerland
* Fanfara 8th Regimento Bersaglieri– Italy
* Imps Motorcycle Display Team– England
* New Zealand Army Band– New Zealand
* Pipes and Drums of the Royal Scots Borderers, 1st Battalion, the Royal Regiment of Scotland– Scotland
* Republic of Korea Air Force Band– South Korea
* Royal Air Force of Oman Pipes and Drums– Oman
* Royal Army of Oman Pipes and Drums– Oman
* Scots Guards Association (Manchester) Pipes and Drums– England
* Sektion Rhone– Switzerland
* South Australia Pipes and Drums– Australia
* Swiss Army Central Band– Switzerland
* Swiss Highlanders– Switzerland
* Temuka Pipe Band– New Zealand
* The Band of The Household Cavalry– United Kingdom
* Top Secret Drum Corps– Switzerland
* War Horse– South Africa
* Will Martin– New Zealand
In addition to the stage performances in the Basel Kaserne (old barracks), the 2015 Basel Tattoo also has following shows:
* Basel Tattoo parade in Basel
* Basel Tattoo parade in Freiburg, Germany
* Broadcast on SRF 1 Swiss television