Kirsty Macnicol
The Southland Times
December 17, 1998

THE City of Invercargill Caledonian Pipe Band will feature on TV1 on
Christmas Eve when the 1998 Edinburgh Military Tattoo goes to air.
The Invercargill and Dunedin pipe bands were the only international pipe bands to take part in the prestigious annual event at Edinburgh Castle, Scotland, during August.
Invercargill drum major Neale Smith said the band had extensive coverage in the BBC recording which was edited to fit a one-hour television timeslot.
It included almost the entire four-minute combined marching display the two bands performed.
There were also several close-up shots of the individual members.
He advised anyone wanting to pick out the Southlanders to look out for the banners hanging from the drones of the bagpipes _ Invercargill and Dunedin were the only bands with banners. The Invercargill banners feature the Southland Spirit of a Nation logo. The bass drum was also prominent with a bold "New Zealand" and the spirit logo.
This year's tattoo, the 49th, had a cast of more than 1000 performers
including 600 musicians and 200 dancers.
Popular acts which featured in the television recording included the
Central Band of the Russian Navy, based in Moscow, and Fiji's Military
Forces Band and meke dance troupe.
The tattoo would screen at 9pm on December 24.