CDD0006

Written evidence submitted by The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo

1)      Introduction             

1.1  The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo is a globally recognised brand that delivers world-class, public military events in Scotland and internationally. The flagship Edinburgh event is over 70 years old, and the longest-running military Tattoo in the world.

1.2  Performed annually to a global TV audience of over 100 million in more than 40 countries, the Show is attended by senior government and military personnel from all over the world. It delivers significant economic benefits to Scotland and the rest of the UK. The Show has also performed abroad, including to Australia in 2019, and there are plans to take it to the United States in 2025.

1.3  The REMT is also a charity, supporting Service personnel and their dependents who encounter challenge and difficulty; as well as the traditional performing arts of Scotland which feature prominently in the Show (piping, dancing, drumming, fiddling, and singing).  It has to date given over £12m to these causes.  The Tattoo has re-booted itself this year, returning in 2022 after the Pandemic in a more dynamic and compelling form, which has garnered widespread praise.  

1.4  We welcome the Defence Sub-Committee’s inquiry into the role of cultural events and institutions in defence diplomacy, including how cultural exchanges can help the UK to engage internationally.

1.5  This submission focusses on the current and potential role of cultural events in the field of defence diplomacy. It offers a view on how these events, including the Tattoo itself, could best be used to project the UK’s values at home and abroad.

2)      What role do cultural events and institutions play in supporting the UK’s aims when it comes to defence diplomacy? What is its value to the UK’s position in the world?

2.1  As noted in the Government’s 2021 Integrated Review (IR), effective diplomacy is a critical tool in the UK’s ability to apply leverage and influence in the world. It is an essential part of the UK’s international cooperation and collaboration, which is increasingly important as the UK attempts to deal with recent international instability and increased challenges emerging globally.

2.2  Cultural events and institutions already play a vital role in this. They act as visual and high-profile representations of the UK – its values, history, culture (in the more general sense) and understanding - at home and abroad and provide an important vehicle for international engagement at the highest levels. This opportunity for engagement is particularly important in the field of defence diplomacy.

2.3  Cultural events and institutions are particularly effective vehicles around which high-level military and government meetings can be convened because they establish a conducive, relaxed, and compelling environment and atmosphere for discussion and negotiation; they have a well-established reputation and appeal – people want to come to them; in the case of the Tattoo, they can incorporate performers/components from the nations of the invited delegates.   They are entertaining, energising, economical, and uncontentious ways of bringing people together. 

2.4  More widely, the Government’s Integrated Review stated the UK’s ambition ‘to become the top destination for international talent, offering the professional opportunities, skills environment and high quality of life to attract the best scientists, researchers and innovators worldwide to come to the UK and make it their home.’  A high quality of life relies on creative and artistic culture. 

2.5  There are few places where this is more evident than in Edinburgh. The city is a magnet for talented, entrepreneurial people working across different sectors, from financial services to fintech, biotech and the media, as well as being home to world class universities attracting thousands of international students every year. These people are attracted to Edinburgh in part because it is a vibrant and beautiful city, but also because it is home to the largest and arguably most famous arts festival in the world, which attracts 2.5m people each year, punching well above its weight for a city of its size. Scotland achieves this distinction with a population of just 5m.

2.6  Britain’s arts and creativity – whether music, dance, film or literature - are world renowned and broker positive influence across the globe. The BBC and its World Service acts as a trusted and greatly respected conduit for much of this, which in turn enhances the trust people place in its objectivity and reliability when it reports on more contentious issues. The creative content develops listener/consumer loyalty to the BBC so that they are attentive to the hard news.

3)      What is the best and most effective way to utilise the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo (REMT)? What changes would need to be made to facilitate the better use of the REMT?

MAKING THE MOST OF GOVERNMENT ATTENDANCE

3.1  The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo (REMT) is regarded by the three Services and MoD as the one of the most important engagement platforms they have.  They exploit its convening power each year systematically and thoughtfully, to forge and enhance relationships at the highest level both internationally and domestically; military to military, between diplomats and with those in many other sectors; commercial/corporate, and academia. There is potential for this to be replicated across various government departments. Despite the opportunity the platform presents for meaningful engagement, HMG and British politicians in general currently fail to exploit its full potential.  Whilst the First Minister of Scotland attends every year, UK Cabinet Ministers do so infrequently. When Ministers do attend, logistics tend to be arranged last minute, making coordination with other guests and networking platforms challenging. Ministers infrequently attend alongside guests who they wish to influence or engage with, despite the fact that these people will be attending the Show on other evenings through the month of August.

3.2  Typically, the Show incorporates acts from all over the world – in 2022, thirteen; over its 72 years, over fifty nations have participated.   The BBC’s motto is ‘let nation speak peace unto nation’.  The Tattoo seeks to do the same through the media of music, dance, drill, and iridescent spectacle, bringing the Armed Forces of the world as well as volunteer civilian performers together for a genuinely unique experience over a month which enhances trust and understanding between allies and even potential foes. 

3.3  The mix of nations and participants is carefully considered from a creative and a political perspective.  Together with commercial organisations with whom the Tattoo partners and seeks sponsorship from, their values must cohere with the Charity’s ESG policy and the Company’s brand guidelines.

3.4  As an example, this year for the first time in 25 years, a CONUS based Tier 1 US Army band – The US Army Field Band – formed part of the Tattoo.  Their Commanding Officer described this as a ‘life changing experience’ for the eighty-two personnel in the Band.  Almost half of them had never travelled outside the United States before.   In his after-action report, he also stated that ‘The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo was the most impressive live show I have ever witnessed or been a part of.’  The new US Ambassador to the UK, Jane Hartley, is determined, in conjunction with her female UK opposite number, HMA in Washington (Dame Karen Pierce) to open the Show in 2023, assuming the Princess Royal (the Tattoo’s Patron), does not claim that honour.  The US Chief of Naval Operations as well as the Head of their Space Command, along with many other senior US Officers, visited the Show.

3.5  The First Sea Lord hosted the US Chief of Naval Operations at the Tattoo this year (Admiral Mike Gildhay). The First Sea Lord said he had ‘a queue of people who command their navies, from right around the world wanting the same opportunity’.  Other prominent guests on the same night were the UK’s National Security Adviser and the Speaker of The House of Commons.

3.6  Whilst representatives from government departments in Westminster and the Scottish Government are welcomed each year, improved coordination would maximise these opportunities.   The nomination of a focal point to manage government relationships, charged with looking at attendance across the Show in a timely manner, would enhance attendance, and ensure that it cohered with the opportunities to meet international guests and to exploit the event to best effect for UK plc.  This model could be replicated for a whole host of cultural events where senior international government or military attendance is expected.

3.7  Recommendation: Government should examine how it uses cultural events as platforms for defence engagement. A cross-departmental view on ministerial attendance at events such as the REMT would ensure these high-value networking opportunities are seized to best effect.

LEVERAGING INTERNATIONAL TATTOOS

3.8  In the past, the REMT has taken the Show overseas on five occasions, focusing on countries with a strong Scottish diaspora and historic/cultural links with the UK.  Most recently it went to Sydney, Australia in 2019.

3.9  The REMT intends to take a Touring Tattoo to the United States in 2025. The intent is to play in three or four cities on the Eastern Seaboard. The ambition, for the Tattoo to tour the US annually, progressively moving west across North America and Canada, fortifying the UK’s influence with its most important ally. 

3.10 The REMT has a ten-year strategy to diversify and increase its performances, both domestically and internationally, potentially adopting a similar model to the Cirque Du Soleil. This will require careful commercial analysis and an incremental model to safeguard the brand and financial investment.

3.11 The Tattoo can also be mobilised and deployed outside the usual show cycle. In October 2021, at just three weeks’ notice, the Tattoo sent 12 performers to Mumbai to participate in the trade mission coinciding with the HMS QUEEN ELIZABETH’s port visit. Tattoo performers mounted a Bollywood mash-up with a local Indian dance troupe.

3.12 The trip itself was part of the wider Government’s GREAT campaign, with the Tattoo directly engaged in discussion with FCDO officials.

3.13 Recommendation: A point of contact should be created within DIT and FCDO to liaise on Tattoo plans and advise on how REMT can align with UK Government activities and priorities, particularly within the auspices of the GREAT campaign.

DEFINING GOVERNMENT VALUE

3.14 The Ministry of Defence routinely abates its costs for the personnel it commits to the REMT, particularly in terms of capitation costs (to a maximum value of £2.5m).  This abatement is critical to the Tattoo’s business model and method of operation. The Tattoo then pays for the marginal costs of MoD personnel (such as food and accommodation) as well as for others involved in the Show.

3.15 Securing this abatement requires a justification of value to HM Treasury every year, for the following three years.  The challenge is describing the benefit of this abatement in purely financial and Blue Book-compliant terms, such that the Treasury is convinced by its merit. 

3.16 In recent years HM Treasury has assumed that the principal advantage of the Tattoo is in terms of military recruitment, but the greater value is in terms of the general exposure (of the Services); enhancement of their image; and the engagement opportunity presented to all of Government (both Westminster and Scottish) by the event. 

3.17 For the Tattoo, and other cultural events that have a real or potential impact on defence diplomacy, it is a significant challenge to quantify ‘value’ and make decisions on how to plan an event that maximises this value.

3.18 Recommendation: Increased transparency of the Government’s objectives when it comes to (defence/cultural) diplomacy is vital if cultural events and institutions are to play a strategic role in furthering the Government’s diplomatic goals. This must include analysis of how progress towards these objectives is measured, as well as the framework for assessing the value that cultural events can bring in this process

4)      Has the Government adequately supported and facilitated the pursuit of defence diplomacy through cultural events and institutions

4.1 The support that the Tattoo receives from the Government, MoD and the Armed Forces for the August event in Edinburgh is most welcome, and the opportunity to work with greater synergy with these partners, in mounting Touring Tattoos and in diversifying and extending its reach, would also be.

5)      What role should the Government have in supporting and coordinating cultural defence diplomacy?

5.1  While defence diplomacy does not necessarily require central Governmental control, the alignment of organisations and events with Government objectives and activities acts a force multiplier for the impact that the outreach can achieve.

5.2  Defence diplomacy goes far beyond trade and equipment. It is also about creating platforms to engage with allies and using the UK’s cultural institutions to project the UK’s power and values on a world stage. This is most effective when it is led by, and coordinated with, the UK Government.

6)      Which organisations or sectors should be responsible for supporting the UK’s defence diplomacy efforts?

6.1  In the DCMS Select Committee report on Promoting Britain Abroad, it was recommended that the Government should work with creative industries at a strategic level, with the creation of a Creative Industries Export Office coordinated by DCMS. Other officials are also envisaged to be included, such as BEIS, the Home Office, and the Department for Transport.

6.2  Such coordinated engagement should also include the MoD and the FCDO, to encapsulate the role institutions such as the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo can play in advancing the UK’s soft power.

6.3  More broadly, the UK performing arts and cultural sectors have much to contribute to defence diplomacy, and the involvement of UK business in a sponsorship role can also enhance impact.

7)      How should value from cultural defence diplomacy be measured? Is there currently an agreed or effective framework for measuring impact against objectives?

7.1  Effective diplomacy is a critical tool in the UK’s ability to apply leverage and influence in the world. It is also an essential part of the UK’s international cooperation and collaboration, which is increasingly important as the UK attempts to deal with recent international instability and increased challenges emerging globally.

7.2  As noted above, the REMT would urge the Government to undertake an analysis of the ROI of defence diplomacy, both in terms of its direct contribution to the economy, its secondary impact upon the UK’s foreign policy and trade, and its tertiary impact on supply chains and wider cultural and social networks.

4th November 2022