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Music

Six Questions for the Person Who Booked The Dalai Lama at Glastonbury Festival

In a time when rappers bringing Miley Cyrus out at Coachella is seen as the zenith of showmanship, what eager talent buyer came up with this infinitely better idea?
Photo via Dalai Lama/Facebook

Early on Monday morning, a fresh-faced representative of His Holiness, The Dalai Lama of Tibet, updated His Holiness' website to announce upcoming appearances for 2015. These included a stop in Copenhagen in February, a Buddhist teaching in Tokyo in April, and a public talk in Somerset, England at Glastonbury Festival in June. Those familiar with the prominent British music festival will at this point be thinking, "Wait, what?"

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The entry in question read "Public Talk in Glastonbury, Somerset, England on June 28: His Holiness will give a talk at the Glastonbury Festival in the morning," and has since been removed, but an announcement by the Oxford branch of the Dalai Lama Center for Compassion remains public. Given how tight-lipped Glastonbury have been about their upcoming lineup (only one artist, Lionel Richie, has been announced) it should come as no surprise that this announcement was quickly brushed under the table.

Still, the question remains: in a time when rappers bringing Miley Cyrus out at Coachella is seen as the zenith of showmanship, what eager talent buyer came up with the infinitely better idea to bring a respected spiritual leader to Glastonbury?

We've reached out to Glastonbury for an answers and will update this post if they respond. In the meantime, we have a few questions for the man (or woman) that put this all together:

1. Can you describe the setting when you decided once and for all that you would approach The Dalai Lama to speak at Glastonbury? Was it a "eureka!" shower moment, or was it more of a boardroom discussion?

2. What's on The Dalai Lama's artist rider? Three bottles of Veuve, or perhaps a chocolate strawberry platter? While we're on the topic of riders, will The Dalai Lama travelling to Glastonbury by air, coach, or private jet?

3. Will The Dalai Lama be camping on-site or is he staying at a hotel? Do you think he'll enjoy the British countryside?

4. Is The Dalai Lama's booking fee greater or less than Calvin Harris'? Does he have an agent, or is it something different entirely?

5. Will The Dalai Lama be doing an Essential Mix to promote his upcoming appearance? Do you think he mixes with CDs, vinyl, or mp3s?

6. Are there any plans to book His Holiness The Pope in 2016?

Ziad Ramley is on Twitter: @ZiadRamley