Project News

The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo, Edinburgh Castle Each year Edinburgh Castle is home to The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo, which is world-famous, and the castle entrance is transformed into an impressive open air arena for 8,700 spectators. This year (2011) a special new grandstand has been designed which can be erected in half the time of previous years. This is a clear advantage as the structure is put in place each year just for the duration of the event. It is then dismantled and stored - freeing up the Castle for the rest of the year. A Baldwin Boxall VIGIL EVAS voice alarm system has been built and, like the arena itself, will be installed annually for use during The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo. This is an unusual scenario as, typically, voice evacuation systems are considered a permanent feature of a site. As you would expect, the system is fully monitored, a requirement of BS5839 part 8, ensuring it will function correctly at all times. In the unlikely event of a fault occurring (from the end of the loudspeaker lines through to the microphone), this will be indicated immediately to the operator. The installation of the system was carried out by Chubb Fire and commissioned by Baldwin Boxall in July 2011. Iain Morison (Chubb Fire) was the Operations Manager for the project. He commented, “This was an interesting project - a lovely site and lots of history. Working alongside Baldwin Boxall the job went smoothly and our customer is pleased with the quality of the sound.” Since the first Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo in 1950, more than twelve million people have attended the event. This is a spectacular display with performers from many countries. Regimental bands, daredevil motorcycles, battle re-enactments, Highland dancers and much more, create a colourful and memorable show. The word ‘tattoo’ comes from the closing-time cry in the inns in the Low Countries during the 17th and 18th centuries - ‘Doe den tap toe’ (‘Turn off the taps’).

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