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.