This November, Wizarding World is celebrating the 20th anniversary of the story that started it all, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, hitting the big screen:
In honour of this special anniversary, between September and December the Wizarding World invites the fan community to celebrate 20 Years of Movie Magic from Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, beginning with a live digital event to mark Back to Hogwarts Day on 1st September. Over 1.1 million global fans tuned in last year, and 2021’s departure is set to be even more spectacular.
“Back to Hogwarts Global Fan Celebration | 20 Years of Harry Potter Movie Magic” is presented by the Harry Potter Fan Club and will be hosted by celebrity DJ and self-proclaimed superfan Yinka Bokinni, with a special guest appearance from Tom Felton. Yinka will guide fans through an interactive celebration of 20 years of fandom and share breaking news and features that Harry Potter fans will not want to miss.
The Back to Hogwarts celebration livestream will be available on the Wizarding World’s YouTube channel, with the event starting at 10.30am (BST) on 1st September.
Providing fans of all ages with a host of ways to engage with the celebrations, new exclusive content focused on 20 Magical Moments from the first film will be released every Wizarding Wednesday including games, quizzes and secrets from the crew who brought it to life. Today, the first moment in the series goes live as Mina Lima, the graphic design duo behind Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts, present a behind-the-scenes video offering fascinating insights into how the iconic Hogwarts Letter was created, go to the 20th Anniversary Hub on WizardingWorld.com and check it out.
What’s in it for Fantastic Beasts fans, you ask? Well, Wizarding World is also promising “a magical surprise or three…”
If your curiosity has been piqued, be sure to tune in to the Back to Hogwarts livestream on September first!
UPDATE:
In addition to the Back to Hogwarts livestream, WizardingWorld has announced that the iconic Platform 9 3/4 trolley will be touring a select number of train stations in the UK to celebrate the 20th Anniversary.
The installation allows fans to recreate the moment when Harry first made it on to Platform 9 ¾, by running through a magical brick wall in London’s King’s Cross station, before taking the 11 o’clock train to Hogwarts, which it did every year on September 1st .
The trolley, a symbol of the gateway between the ‘Muggle’ and wizarding world, is situated on the concourse of King’s Cross Station, alongside the Harry Potter Shop at Platform 9 ¾, and is visited every year by over 2 million people, serving as a symbol of the Harry Potter legacy for the last two decades, but soon cities across the UK will be able to experience the magic too.
To mark the milestone anniversary a replica trolley will be touring four train stations across England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales in October. Muggles, witches and wizards alike will be able to get a photo of them appearing to run through the wall, to reach Platform 9 ¾, where the Hogwarts Express departs from.
The trolley will appear at the following stations:
- Edinburgh Waverley Station: 16th -18th October
- Birmingham New Street Station: 23rd – 25th October
- Cardiff Central Station: 26th – 28th October
- Belfast Lanyon Place Station: 29th – 31st October
The trolley tour will thank the fan community for their love and support over the past two decades and help them capture their own version of this iconic moment from the first film . The official 20th Anniversary of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone will be celebrated on the 16th November 2021.
