Royal Tournament (Hansard, 19 July 1999)

§ Lord Gilbert

Last year we announced that the Royal Tournament in its current form would end on a high in 1999 but that a flagship Armed Forces event would continue in the future.

The Royal Military Tattoo 2000 will be a flagship contribution by the Armed Forces to the country's Millennium celebrations. Within the setting of Horse Guards' Parade, the theme will be Defence of the Realm: Past, Present and Future, portraying a 1,000-year story. The event will take place between 10 and 15 July 2000, with one performance each evening.

From 2001 onwards, the spirit of the Royal Tournament will be carried forward in a showcase event in London. This will be a military tattoo at Horse Guards Parade, involving ceremonial, massed hands and pageantry. It will be held each summer inside a week.

In addition, a military festival will be held annually outside London at different military locations, also in the summer. In 2001 this will be Portsmouth, based on the Royal Navy's Festival of the Sea.

These changes will mean that the final Royal Navy Field Gun Competition will take place at the 1999 Royal Tournament, in the centenary year of the action it commemorates.