The Royal Tournament was the world's largest

military tattoo A military tattoo is a performance of music or display of armed forces in general. The term comes from the early 17th-century Dutch phrase ''doe den tap toe'' ("turn off the tap"), a signal sounded by drummers or trumpeters to instruct innkeeper ...

and pageant, held by the British Armed Forces annually between 1880 and 1999. The venue was originally the

Royal Agricultural Hall The Business Design Centre is a Grade II listed building located between Upper Street and Liverpool Road in the district of Islington in London, England. It was opened in 1862, originally named the Agricultural Hall and from 1884 the Royal Agri ...

and latterly the

Earls Court Exhibition Centre Earls Court Exhibition Centre was a major international exhibition and events venue just west of central London. At its peak it is said to have generated a £2 billion turnover for the economy. It replaced exhibition and entertainment grounds, ...

. In its later years it also acted as a fundraising event for leading forces charities, such as The Royal British Legion.

History

The Grand Military Tournament and Assault at Arms was held at the former

, in Islington from 21 to 26 June 1880. The Tournament was effectively a series of competitions contested by the officers and men of the regular and auxiliary units of the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

. Although crowds didn’t flock to the Tournament in the first year, it was held again in 1881 and subsequent years. More events to please audiences were added, including music from military bands, re-enactments, Musical Rides by the Cavalry and Musical Drives by the Artillery. Crowds began to flock to performances at the Agricultural hall; during the early 1900s the show outgrew its home and moved to the west London venue of Olympia. The

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...

and the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

also participated. The show was renamed a number of times until it finally became the Royal Tournament.

Post World War II

After the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

, the Tournament once again moved to a larger stage and opened its doors to the public at the

in 1950. With the exception of the war years, the Tournament was staged every summer from 1880 to 1999. The Royal Tournament was the first and biggest

Military Tattoo A military tattoo is a performance of music or display of armed forces in general. The term comes from the early 17th-century Dutch phrase ''doe den tap toe'' ("turn off the tap"), a signal sounded by drummers or trumpeters to instruct innkeeper ...

in the World. Towards the end ticket sales were insufficient to cover costs; the 1998 Royal Tournament made a loss. On Monday 2 August 1999 the Royal Tournament closed for the final time to reduce military costs, following the 1998

Strategic Defence Review The Strategic Defence Review (SDR) was a British policy document produced in July 1998 by the Labour Government that had gained power a year previously. Then Secretary of State for Defence, George Robertson, set out the initial defence policy of ...

The British Military Tournament

In June 2010, the

Army Benevolent Fund ABF The Soldiers' Charity, formerly the Army Benevolent Fund,Third Sector Magazine"Charity rebranding: a change of vision and strategy" ''Third Sector Magazine'', 06/04/10 is the national charity of the British Army. Since 1944, it has provided ...

announced that a new event, to be called the ''British Military Tournament'', would be held over the weekend of 4–5 December 2010, bringing together the "best elements of the Royal Tournament", including the

King's Troop, Royal Horse Artillery The King's Troop, Royal Horse Artillery, is a ceremonial unit of the British Army, quartered at Woolwich. It is a mounted unit and all of its soldiers are trained to care for and drive teams of six horses, each team pulling a First World War-er ...

's Musical Drive, and the Royal Navy

Field gun competition The Royal Navy's field gun competition is a contest between teams from various Royal Navy commands, in which teams of sailors compete to transport a field gun and its equipment over and through a series of obstacles in the shortest time. The compe ...

. The two themes of the event as announced were the 350th anniversary of the

Household Cavalry The Household Cavalry (HCav) is made up of the two most senior regiments of the British Army, the Life Guards and the Blues and Royals (Royal Horse Guards and 1st Dragoons). These regiments are divided between the Household Cavalry Regiment sta ...

, and the 150th anniversary of both the Army Physical Training Corps and the cadet movement. Initially, only the Army was to participate (with Navy or RAF presence only in old staples such as the Field Gun competition). Press reports suggested that the event might have later been held annually, "hosted" by the different services in turn. The British Military Tournament was held four times, the 2013 Tournament being the last.British Military Tournament Ends After 4-Year Run
/ref>

References

{{Reflist

History

Post World War II

The British Military Tournament

See also

References

External links