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When an important spiritual leader plans to visit a country, there is usually a high level of interest and this is certainly the case for the upcoming visit of the Dalai Lama. This year, he will be visiting Scotland between the 21st and 24th June. During the visit, which is part of a UK-wide tour, he will speak in Dundee, Edinburgh and Inverness. Invitations to these three cities were issued around six years ago, so there is a lot of excitement about the fact that the Dalai Lama is actually coming.

The Dalai Lama’s visit has been organised by the Edinburgh Inter Faith Association and he will have a packed itinerary while he is in Scotland. There has been a huge demand for tickets to see him and box offices are struggling to cope. The Dalai Lama will speak at The Eden Court Theatre in Inverness, at Caird Hall in Dundee and at the Usher Hall in Edinburgh.

When the date for the speech in Inverness was announced, the box office was inundated with calls about ticket availability. The Eden Court Theatre actually posted on Facebook to inform people about the demand for tickets that it was experiencing. All the phones at the theatre were manned and the theatre asked callers to be patient. Hotels in Edinburgh, Inverness and Dundee are all expecting a surge in demand too.

In Dundee, the Dalai Lama’s visit will be part of the University’s graduation ceremonies and he will deliver a lecture on religion at Caird Hall. The lecture will follow an official greeting which will include traditional pipe bands.

During his time in Edinburgh, the Dalai Lama will give a public talk at the Usher Hall entitled ‘Beyond Religion: ethics for a whole world.’ This will be the keynote speech in series of speeches to celebrate the 20th anniversary of The Edinburgh Lectures. It will be preceded by a visit to the National Library of Scotland to see Tibetan material in the archives and followed by a visit to the Scottish Parliament which will include an informal lunch and a chance to meet Scottish religious leaders.

There was also high demand for tickets to the Usher Hall and by the time of the Dalai Lama’s visit it is unlikely that there will be any seats left. One hundred and twenty schoolchildren will be in the audience, however and eight of them will have the chance to ask some questions. The rest of Edinburgh’s school children will not miss out, as his speech will be broadcast in all of the city’s schools.

Born in Tibet in 1935, the Dalai Lama is widely recognised as one of the world’s most respected spiritual leaders. Now living in exile in India, he regularly travels the world expounding his spiritual message. This is the main aim of his visit to the UK.

The Dalai Lama is particularly keen to encourage young people to engage in a dialogue for peace and get involved in the changes that they would like to see in their world. He is a renowned moral authority in the world and he is hoping to spread his message of peace to the UK.

This Guest post has been written by Saul Malpass who keeps a keen eye on happenings in Scotland and publicies places to stay. Saul currently writes on behalf of Lodging World a hotels website.