The 2018 Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo wraps up on the Castle Esplanade on August 25, 2018. (Photo: China Plus/Liang Tao)

2018 Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo wrapped up after its final show was staged at night on August 25. 

The 8,800 nightly audiences were captivated by a colorful cultural showcase and thrilling display of music, dance, military performance and technology, all against the backdrop of Edinburgh Castle.

From Australia and Oman to Malawi and the Shetland Isles, producers explored all points of the compass to select a world-class program of home-grown and overseas talent to bring this year's spectacle to life in the last three weeks. 

Top Secret Drum Corps from Basel in Switzerland play at the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo on August 25, 2018. (Photo: China Plus/Liang Tao)

This year's theme, The Sky's the Limit, was chosen in celebration of the 100-year anniversary of the Royal Air Force and marries with Scotland's Year of Young People.

More than 1,200 cast and crew have been involved in the organization of the Tattoo, which plays to an onsite audience of 220,000 and to an estimated global audience of over 100 million through programmed televised broadcasts.  

A female drummer from the combined bands of the Royal Cavalry of the Sultanate of Oman plays at the Edinburgh Military Tattoo on August 25, 2018. (Photo: China Plus/Liang Tao)

This is the first Edinburgh show since organizers revealed their intent to take the Tattoo across the globe on an ambitious expansion program which will see it visit Australia, Canada and China and double its turn-over to £20 million by 2025.

Since 1950, more than 14 million visitors have watched the Tattoo on the Edinburgh Castle Esplanade. Independent research shows that the Tattoo contributes over £77 million to the Scottish economy.