Exclusive:King's Theatre drone celebration on castle Esplanade scrapped by heritage body after Tattoo 'clash'

A nine-minute drone show planned to celebrate the opening of Edinburgh’s King’s Theatre from the esplanade of Edinburgh Castle was scrapped just two weeks before the event by Historic Environment Scotland, due to a “clash” with the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo.

The 120-year-old theatre, which reopened at the weekend for the first time in almost four years, had planned the drone-based display as a “surprise” for last Friday night as part of the celebrations of the £41 million refurbishment of the venue.

However, theatre bosses were forced to cancel the event just two weeks ago and replace it with a light show on the front of the theatre building itself due to HES executives becoming aware that the timing of the event coincided with the build for the Tattoo, which has operated from the Esplanade every summer for 76 years.

HES, which operates Edinburgh Castle, as well as many other heritage sites in Scotland, told the theatre that it would no longer be able to host a launch space for the drones on its Esplanade, as the Tattoo would be working on its build for this year’s event.

The light projection beamed onto the side of the King's Theatre in place of a planned drone show. | King's Theatre

The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo has performed on the Castle Esplanade every August since 1950, having officially relocated there after a preliminary 1949 show nearby at the Ross Bandstand.

In addition to the three-week performance period, the Tattoo has a number of weeks of set up, during which time staff erect large grandstands on the Esplanade.

Fiona Gibson, chief executive of Capital Theatres, which operates the King’s Theatre, told The Scotsman: “We decided to do something different. I think there’s always challenges with the send-off site, you need quite a large area to send drones up - and because the Tattoo is at the same time as this, it was just going to be really difficult. So we changed tack to something we could control entirely ourselves.”

The back of the auditorium in the newly-reopened King's Theatre. Pic: Anneleen Lindsay. | Anneleen Lindsay

She said the change had been made two weeks ago, adding it had “taken a while” for HES to realise the potential clash after a lengthy period of planning. The drone event, which was due to last for nine minutes, had been provisionally put into media diaries last month, under strict secrecy.

“We needed a rostra, a large flat launch platform on a slope. It needs to be quite a big area, so the only place it could be was the Esplanade and the Tattoo is in its rehearsal period so there is a clash. We thought it’s probably best just to make sure we can do what we want to do and have control over it.”

A spokeswoman for Capital Theatres added: “We did originally explore a drone light show to celebrate the reopening of the King’s, but we changed our plan due to challenges with the drive out location, ie the launch site for the drones.”

HES, an arms-length body which receives around £74m in Scottish government funding, has been troubled by a leadership crisis in recent times.

Last month, a culture and organisation review, conducted by former Dundee City Council chief executive, David Martin, recommended a significant overhaul of management at HES, saying the organisation’s “organisational performance and strategic focus have not been well served by a combination of unproductive relationships between the HES Board and senior executives”.

A spokesperson for HES said: “Drone launches for shows of this scale and complexity would not normally take place from the Esplanade for operational and safety reasons. Previous drone displays at Edinburgh Castle have been launched from the Half Moon Battery.

“We worked closely and positively with Capital Theatres and their contractors over a number of weeks to explore options for facilitating a drone display as part of the King's Theatre reopening celebrations. Edinburgh Castle is a working heritage site which hosts a wide range of events and activities throughout the year, and planning for activities such as the proposed drone display can involve complex logistical considerations.

“Through meetings, site visits and ongoing discussions, a number of options were considered and discussed in detail. Following consideration of those options, Capital Theatres decided not to proceed with the proposed display.”