1 February 2012
Dalai Lama tickets sell out in two hours
Huge public interest in His Holiness The Dalai Lama's historic first visit to Dundee saw tickets for a public talk which he will deliver sell out little after two hours of going on sale this morning.
His Holiness will deliver the University of Dundee's Margaret Harris Lecture on Religion at the city's Caird Hall on Friday, June 22nd, as part of a tour of the UK.
Demand for the event was such that people desperate to hear from one of the world's most influential spiritual leaders were queuing outside Dundee City Box Office from 6am. By 8.30am, half-an-hour before the Box Office opened, the queue snaked down City Square and into High Street as far as the junction with Castle Street.
The last tickets were snapped up just after 11am, illustrating the extent to which the visit has captured the public's attention. Tickets sold out for other public talks in Edinburgh and Inverness within 24 hours.
The visit is being co-ordinated by Edinburgh Inter-Faith Association, and the University of Dundee Chaplaincy Centre are one of the key partners who have helped to organise it. University Chaplain Rev Dr Fiona Douglas expressed her delight at how quickly the tickets sold.
'We are delighted that so many people from Dundee and the surrounding area have taken the opportunity to hear His Holiness The Dalai Lama deliver the Margaret Harris Lecture on Religion,' she said.
'It is not surprising that there has been such a rush for tickets, as the message that The Dalai Lama will be conveying, one of peace, love and understanding between people of all different faiths, is one that resonates with people across the world. This is set to be a historic event in the city's history, and we are all very much looking forward to it.'
His Holiness's visit to Dundee will see him welcomed to the city by a pipe band and members of the public before delivering his lecture. This event will top off a week of graduation ceremonies held by the University at the Caird Hall.
His Holiness The Dalai Lama will visit Dundee as a guest of the University and Dundee City Council a week after arriving in the UK a week earlier. He will deliver talks in Manchester and London, as well as in the Scottish cities, as part of his tour. His talk in Dundee, entitled 'Education of The Heart', takes place during the University's Graduation Week celebrations.
Notes to editors:
THE EDINBURGH INTER FAITH ASSOCIATION
The Edinburgh Inter Faith Association (EIFA) has been highly successful in bringing numerous high profile religious and spiritual leaders or Nobel Peace Prize laureates or nominees to Scotland and has either co-ordinated or jointly co-ordinated visits in the recent past by His Holiness the Dalai Lama, the Venerable Thich Nhat Hanh, His Holiness Swami Chitanand Saraswati Ji, Chief Rabbi David Rosen, Bhai Sahib Mohinder Singh Ji, Sister Joan Chittister, Arun Gandhi grandson of Mahatma Gandhi, Archbishop Elias Chacour, Mother Meera, Nobel Laureate Mairead Corrigan Maquire and many other globally known figures.
EIFA will partner with the Dundee City Council, the University of Dundee, the City of Edinburgh Council, The Highland Council, The National Library of Scotland and The Representative of His Holiness The Dalai Lama for Northern Europe to deliver the visit programme. Victor Spence is the visit co-ordinator for the visit in Scotland. Victor Spence will also liaise with organisers of The Dalai Lama's visit to Manchester and London which are part of a wider visit to the United Kingdom.
This is the Dalai Lama's 5th visit to Scotland in a near 20 year period. The most recent visits were in November 2005 and June 2004.
HIS HOLINESS THE 14TH DALAI LAMA OF TIBET
His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, is the spiritual leader of Tibet. He was born on 6 July 1935, to a farming family, in a small hamlet located in Taktser, Amdo, northeastern Tibet. At the age of two the child, who was named Lhamo Dhondup at that time was recognized as the reincarnation of the 13th Dalai Lama. The Dalai Lamas are believed to be manifestations of Avalokiteshvara or Chenrezig, the Bodhisattva of Compassion and patron saint of Tibet. Bodhisattvas are enlightened beings who have postponed their own nirvana and chosen to take rebirth in order to serve humanity.
Now living in exile in India His Holiness The Dalai Lama is a Nobel Laureate as well as being one of the most known, loved and revered religious and spiritual leaders in the world today.
His Holiness has travelled to more than 62 countries spanning 6 continents. He has met with presidents, prime ministers and crowned rulers of major nations. He has held dialogues with the heads of different religions and many well-known scientists.
Since 1959 His Holiness has received numerous awards, honorary doctorates, prizes, etc., in recognition of his message of peace, non-violence, inter-religious understanding, universal responsibility and compassion. His Holiness has also authored more than 72 books.
His Holiness The Dalai Lama describes himself as a simple Buddhist monk.
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Grant Hill
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University of Dundee
Nethergate, Dundee, DD1 4HN
TEL: 01382 384768
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