The Cape Town Military Tattoo is fast becoming a fixture of the mother city's summer calendar, and organisers promise that this year's event will once again surprise and enthral audiences.

The fifth Cape Town Military Tattoo is taking place from 19-21 November 2009 in the ‘Voorplein’, or front bailey of the Castle of Good Hope.

The City of Cape Town is supporting the event, which is primarily funded and organised by the SA National Defence Force. This year’s theme is ‘Comrades in Arms’.

The programme is designed to entertain and educate the audience about the military, as well as about Cape Town and its history.

"This year it's basically like a bride's wedding gown: Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue," said the producer of the tattoo, Major Willem Steenkamp.

"The blue will be the blue uniforms of the Dutch Royal Constabulary, a 57-man band. They are the first foreign band to play at the Cape Town Military Tattoo," he explained.

The tattoo features a unique spectacle of military and musical acts, including marching bands, a battle re-enactment, and a horse act by the South African Police Service Mounted Unit. "We are hoping to pull off some interesting stunts," Steenkamp said.

The SA Army Band Western Cape, SA Navy Band, SA Police Service Band and the SA Military Health Service band will also play.

"There will also be a massed pipe band consisting of the Pipes and Drums of the Cape Field Artillery, the Drums and Pipes of the Cape Town Highlanders, the Pipes and Drums of the SA Military Health Services and the Pipes and Drums of 1 Medical Battalion Group, which is based in Durban."

The music will not only include traditional military marches, but also some famous old tunes.
Traditional favourites, including the opening ceremony by the Castle Guard, and the playing of Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture, complete with thunderous fire from the Cape Field Artillery's Saluting Troop, will also feature.

Steenkamp described the Final Muster, when all the performers come back to close the evening and the lone piper plays, as a ‘lump-in-the-throat’ moment.

"All in all there will be a lot of noise, a lot of music, and a far amount of movement. I think people will enjoy it."

The military tattoo, once a long standing tradition celebrated throughout South Africa, had died out in the 1980s. It was revived again in Cape Town in 2003, and now tattoos are being held in Johannesburg and Durban again.

"It's about reuniting people with their history," Steenkamp said.

This year marks the 130th year since the battle of Isandlwana, and 70 years since South Africa's entry into World War II.

The organisers hope the tattoo will become as big a fixture in Cape Town as the famous Edinburgh Military Tattoo has become in Scotland.

Tickets: Computicket or at the door

Prices: R70-R80 for adults; R40 for children

Venue: Castle of Good Hope

Dates: 19-21 November 2009

Time: 20:00

Parking: Darling Street or Grand Parade

Telephone: 021 7871162