Tickets to see the Dalai Lama in Dundee sold out within hours as early risers queued through the city streets.
Hundreds waited patiently as the line of people stretched from the City Square as far as Castle Street, with some said to have started queuing from 6am for Wednesday’s sale.
Such was the demand to see the preacher on his first visit to the city, box office sales were concluded just over two hours after opening to the public. It means a packed Caird Hall will await the Buddhist leader when he arrives in the city in June.
Braving the cold was Robert Britton (29), who said the opportunity to see such an important figure was too good to miss.
”It’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience like the Pope coming to Scotland two years ago,” he said. ”You never know when these people will come back so I want to get tickets to see the Dalai Lama. It’s been a long wait but I’m sure it will be worth it.”
Tibetan Karma Tendhar was one of the first to get a ticket. He said: ”I am really looking forward to seeing the Dalai Lama. I’ve managed to get a ticket for me and one for my son I think I will have to keep them in a safe place and then count down the days until June.”
Tickets were sold out shortly after 11am, leaving dozens out in the cold.
Attempts to buy tickets online also proved frustrating for some, with servers at the Dundee City Box Office website having struggled to cope with the traffic.
Laura Lucas from Broughty Ferry contacted The Courier having failed to secure tickets.
Concerned about the volume of tickets sold online, she said: ”I was waiting for two hours and there must have been about 250 people ahead of me. Even if they bought two tickets each then that’s only 500 tickets sold.
”I am exploring my spirituality at the moment and wanted to see the Dalai Lama in my home town.”
The Dalai Lama will visit as a guest of Dundee University and Dundee City Council and will deliver the Margaret Harris Lecture on Religion at the Caird Hall on Friday June 22. The talk, entitled Education of the Heart, will take place during the university’s graduation week celebrations.See more on the Dalai Lama tickets rush in Friday’s Courier