www.Swissinfo.ch and agencies
August 4, 2009

More than 12,000 people are expected to gather
today at a skating rink in Malley near Lausanne
for an audience with the Dalai Lama.

The Tibetan spiritual leader arrived in
Switzerland on Monday afternoon for the start of
a five-day visit that will not include a formal meeting with cabinet ministers.

"That really isn't a problem for me," the
74-year-old Nobel Peace Prize laureate told the
Tages-Anzeiger newspaper. "I am here to learn and
don't want to make anyone uncomfortable."

The Dalai Lama arrived by car shortly before 5pm
at the Hotel Beau-Rivage in Ouchy on Lake Geneva,
where he will be staying for the duration of his
visit. About 200 people were there to welcome him
on a red carpet, including dozens of monks.

He is expected to lead spiritual seminars and
meet Chiara Simoneschi-Cortesi, the speaker of
the House of Representatives. On Thursday he will
travel to Geneva for a Sino-Tibetan conference.

This is the first time the Dalai Lama has been to
Lausanne. In 2005 he visited Zurich, where 30,000
people gathered to hear him speak.