Army chiefs are optimistic that they can secure the funding to guarantee the future of the Edinburgh Military Tattoo.

As the 800 cast members of the Tattoo marched through Glasgow yesterday, before playing a free concert in George Square in the city, the show's producer said that he was confident of raising enough money to build a new stadium for it.

Organisers are seeking £15.5 million to replace the outdated grandstand on the esplanade of Edinburgh Castle with a purpose-built structure. The grandstand has been in use since 1975. As well as being cramped and uncomfortable, it takes six months to build and dismantle.

More than £10million has been found to pay for the project, but uncertainty remains over the £5million pledged by Scottish Enterprise.

Major-General Euan Louden, chief executive and producer of the Tattoo, said that he was confident of plugging the funding gap because the event was too important to the economy for Scottish Enterprise to overlook.

“I am ever the optimist,” MajorGeneral Louden said. “For 60 years we have been a growing success story, and are strong enough to speak to a billion people round the world on television, so a joint effort - between us and private and public partnerships - seems to me a very sensible investment in this iconic event.”

Although the Tattoo is a charity, Major-General Louden pointed out that it injected more than £50million into the economy every August. “For a niche event, there are some real economic upsides to the story, in addition to the culture and music.”

The parade through Glasgow was held to raise the profile of the Tattoo and awareness of the fundraising drive. Captain Richard Harvey, director of music for the Royal Marines Band Service, said: “Given what is going on in the world at the moment, it is important to keep the Armed Forces in people's minds at home.”

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