Tattoo beat begins

Over 1,000 performers will take part in the event

The 54th Edinburgh Military Tattoo is set to begin a three week run with a packed show including music made famous by chart-topping boyband Westlife.

The ever-popular performance in the shadow of Edinburgh castle sold out in record time this year despite concerns that the recent Iraq war might reduce visitor numbers.

About 1,000 performers from around the world including South Korea, Oman and Switzerland, will take part in this year's event, which officially begins on Friday evening.

The spectacle will open with a fanfare to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the Union of the Crowns of England and Scotland.

A total of 9,000 spectators are expected to pack out the Castle Esplanade, at the top of the Royal Mile, every night until 23 August.

Military tattoo facts The first tattoo took place at the castle in 1950 Over 1,000 performers will appear this year 9,000 spectators are expected every night 100 million will watch the event on television £76m boost for Scotland's economy

Despite the increasingly international flavour, the main pillars remain the pipes and drums and military bands from the British Army.

The massed pipes and drums will include performers from Australia, New Zealand and Oman.

They will perform a combined musical programme boasting Westlife's Queen of My Heart, and the soundtrack to Ridley Scott's 1992 Christopher Columbus biopic, Conquest of Paradise, by Greek composer Vangelis.

The Royal Scots, The Scots Guards and The Black Watch are among several regiments performing at the three-week festival.

This year also includes the first UK appearance by the traditional band of the army of the Republic of Korea to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the armistice in the Korean War.

Brigadier Mel Jamieson, the producer of the tattoo, said it was important to provide variety.

"This show is designed for the Scots, if I was designing it for the tourists I would only produce pipes and drums and dancing and bands, but there's so much more," he said.

The traditional band of the army of the Republic of Korea appears

The grand finale, featuring the entire 1000-strong cast and a special tribute to the armed services, will see a lone piper on the castle ramparts, playing the haunting lament Sleep Dearie Sleep.

A total of 217,000 people are expected to attend this year's Tattoo, around 35% of them from overseas.

A recent survey suggested that visitors coming to Edinburgh for the tattoo generates £76m for the Scottish economy every year, making it one of the country's biggest tourism earners.

A further 100 million people worldwide are expected to watch the show, which is the longest-running military tattoo in the world, on television.