A New Zealander has been picked to lead Scotland's biggest show on the world stage - the Royal Edinburgh Tattoo.
It's the first time a person outside the military has been appointed as creative director and it’s an opportunity being touted as a chance to introduce a bit of Kiwi flavour.
Since 1950, the Edinburgh Military Tattoo has been wowing crowds at the city's castle, and New Zealander Michael Braithwaite is now taking over the reins as its key producer.
Braithwaite has been producing festivals, shows and movies such as Harry Potter for the past 25 years but by his own admission, he says he's an unlikely choice.
"It came quite out of the blue because for 70 years of this event it's always been run by a retired general from the British army," he told 1 NEWS.
But the tattoo is a dream job secured after a very long trip to London.
"For a three-hour meeting, the exercise took one day short of a month - door to door to get there and back," he says.
Since Covid-19 cancelled this year's event, special precautions are being put in place for next year's show with military precision.
"They have back-up plans for their back-up plans so they are running all kinds of algorithms on socially distancing the stands," Braithwaite says.
He hopes it will return with a bang.
"My desire for the show in 2021 is to have it extremely colourful and exuberant and a sort of celebration of having got through something - you know, how the world has pulled together to get through an extremely challenging time," Braithwaite says.
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