The Dalai Lama begins a national tour of the UK on Friday which will see the Tibetan spiritual leader appear alongside no other than comedian Russell Brand.
The Tibetan spiritual leader will visit Manchester, Leeds and London during the eight-day visit which will see him convey his message of non-violence, dialogue and universal responsibility.
The tour aims to spread the 76-year-old Buddhist's teachings of peace and understanding to youngsters. As part of this, a rather incongrous pairing of Brand and the Dalai Lama will appear at a youth event in Manchester on Saturday.
The Dalai Lama will visit some of Britain's major cities as he spreads his peaceful message
Brand will act as a master of ceremonies when the Dalai Lama addresses thousands of young people, giving a talk entitled Century of Dialogue - Stand up and Be the Change.
The Dalai Lama was born in a small village in north-eastern Tibet and at the age of two was recognised as the incarnation of the 13th Dalai Lama, Thubten Gyatso, and began his monastic education when he was six.
He was called upon to assume full political power over the people of Tibet at the age of 15 but was forced into exile in India after China invaded Tibet in 1949.
While in exile, he has worked to restore autonomy for Tibet within the People's Republic of China and maintained a non-violent approach to his people's struggle.
His visit to the UK will begin with a press conference in Manchester today.
He will then head to the Yorkshire International Business Convention, in Leeds, to talk about ethics in business.
The event on Saturday, at the MEN Arena, is free for those aged 25 and under, and £25 for everyone else.
More information on the visit is available at www.dalailama2012uk.org