Dalai Lama cuts 80th birthday cake on Glastonbury stage

Thousands cheered on as the Dalai Lama received a cake on main stage at Glastonbury Festival to mark his 80th birthday.

It was Tibetan Buddhism's head monk's first appearance at the iconic music event, where he was addressing the massive audience in the Worthy Farm fields, but was surprised when suddenly the crowd burst into a rendition of "Happy Birthday" initiated by punk rock singer Patti Smith.

His birthday is due next week.

The Dalai Lama described the annual gathering as a "festival of people, not politicians and governments" and talked about the importance of including moral education and secular principles in schools, which do not give preference to one religion, the Daily Express reported.

Changing the tone of the talk, the Nobel Peace Prize winner also admitted that if he wasn't the Dalai Lama for one day, he would like to be a tractor driver on a farm in his home village in Taktser, China. The Chinese government had previously opposed any organisation that gives the exiled spiritual leader a platform, saying that it could be used for "conducting anti-China secessionist activities in the name of religion."

However, the Dalai Lama had earlier dismissed the criticism as a "usual response".