It was a day to remember for Harry Potter fans.
JK Rowling’s eighth Harry Potter story has been released in bookstores across the globe and everyone is going crazy about it—including ‘Potterheads’ in Dubai, UAE.
Virgin Megastore at the Mall of the Emirates in Dubai, hosted a launch event to celebrate the release of the new book last July 31st. It was marketed as Harry Potter’s 36th Birthday Party, and all were invited.
The book officially launched worldwide yesterday and fans of the series flocked to bookstores around the world wearing wizard hats and capes to get their hands on a copy.
According to reports by The Independent UK, around 700 witches, wizards and magical creatures queued outside Waterstones in Piccadilly, central London, ahead of the midnight launch.
In Australia, members of the Australian Quidditch team posed with crowds outside Dymocks – the biggest book chain in the country.
In Porto, Portugal, huge lines of people snaked around the famous Livraria Lello bookshop, while in Los Angeles plays people gathered for a planned meeting of witches and wizards at the city’s Union Station and in New York the Strand Bookstore held costume contests, trivia and live sorting.
Experts said the success of the marketing campaign had been down to the enthusiasm of fans, who sought to preserve the secrets of the script voluntarily in a nostalgic trip back to before the instant gratification culture of online.