Hundreds of fans of the Harry Potter franchise have been seen at the King’s Cross Station in London booing loudly in disapproval. Surprisingly, J.K. Rowling had nothing to do with it.
As fans of the fantasy book and movie series swamped the iconic train station in London over the weekend, they were expecting a special announcement to play over the speakers.
In previous years, King’s Cross Station has marked the first day of September with a variety of ‘Back To Hogwarts’ celebrations, including decorations, cosplayers, and a special conductor announcement at 11am exactly.
Here’s some footage of the event last year, when thousands of fans brought the station to a stand-still with a booming countdown until the announcement.
@uktravel #fyp #harrypotter #hogwarts #hogwartsexperess #hogwartsedit ♬ original sound – uktravel
It’s a cute enough tradition, even if you aren’t one of the millennials who have their Hogwarts house in their Instagram bio.
However, this year the hundreds of fans who turned up to Platform 9 and 3/4 were not met with music, or announcements, or decorations.
When the clock struck 11am, the only sound that was heard was silence… followed by hundreds of people booing when their tradition had been cancelled.
@mylondoncorner Back to Hogwarts 2024 cancellato ❌ Ogni 1° settembre, i fan di Harry Potter si riuniscono alla stazione di King's Cross per celebrare la partenza dell'Hogwarts Express dal binario 9¾, un momento iconico della serie. Tuttavia, quest'anno l'evento è stato cancellato perché causava troppi disagi ai viaggiatori, creando problemi di sovraffollamento e ritardi nella stazione, una delle più trafficate di Londra 🚂🥲 #mylondoncorner #harrypotter #hp #harrypotterita #danielradcliffe #harrypotteritalia #harrypotterfan #kingscross #kingscrossstation #london #londra #londra❤️ #londra🇬🇧 ♬ original sound – MyLondonCorner
@sreestarsreestar guess we’re not going to school this year, guys 😭 #kingscross #hogwartsannouncement #harrypotter #fail ♬ Harry Potter Themesong – Fail Recorder Cover – MEMESVICES
Maybe I’m a dickhead, but it’s lowkey hilarious.
Those few seconds of silence between cheers and boos, as the Harry Potter fans clock the fact there will be no announcement? It’s the perfect build-up and release of tension. Comedy gold.
The only thing that could make it better is if someone shouted: “THAT’S MY SON, THAT’S MY BOY!” Would’ve been a mint reference.
The cancellation of this year’s Back To Hogwarts event was not a last-minute change, however. Fans were given months of warning not to visit King’s Cross Station with expectations of a Potter-party.
Back in July, Warner Brothers (which owns the Harry Potter franchise) announced there would be no event at the train station this year.
“Come 1st September, fans are strongly discouraged from travelling to King’s Cross as there will be no event, departure board or countdown at the station,” read the statement.
The reason for the cancellation was simple enough: it severely interrupted the whole “train station operations” thing that King’s Cross is supposed to be doing.
“While our station concourses are sometimes used for commercial events, our priority must always be passengers who are trying to make their journeys on the railway,” a spokesperson for the station told BBC.
“Having begun as a small number of fans waving off the departure of the Hogwarts Express, celebrations have grown significantly in popularity and last year’s event saw thousands of people at King’s Cross, which made it challenging for us as station operator.”
@graysanne Harry Potter cancelled his way to hogsmeade due to security reason. Sad! #hogsmeade #harrypotter #kingscross #unitedkingdom #london ♬ original sound – Grace Alvarez Pelayo
Fans were offered alternative options to celebrate online, or at venues that weren’t the train station, however this didn’t stop hundreds of people still turning up in costume and holding a countdown.
Whether these fans had missed the cancellation announcement or were in denial of the event being axed is unknown.
What is known is that grown-ass Harry Potter fans made a whole lot of noise, and I am so glad I was not in the same room as them.
Can’t wait for that TERF author lady to say she’ll “never forgive” the station for this. Ugh, I miss when her brain wasn’t destroyed by her house’s black mould.
[Image: Getty/TikTok]
The post Hundreds Of Harry Potter Fans Booed At King’s Cross Station & It Wasn’t Even To Do With JK Rowling appeared first on PEDESTRIAN.TV .
