Fans queue for final Potter book
Stores were gearing up for Harry Potter mania today as the first fans queued to get their hands on the book.
Hundreds of outlets will open before midnight tomorrow night for the launch of JK Rowling’s final tale of wizardry.
A cluster of mainly foreign fans started queueing outside Waterstone’s bookstore on London’s Piccadilly yesterday.
The chain expects hundreds more people to join the queue ahead of tomorrow night’s launch event, when the store will be decorated as the Hogwarts dining hall.
Waterstone’s will sell Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows for £8.99.
This is the same as high street chain Woolworths but marginally more expensive than Sainsbury’s, Asda and Tesco which plan to cut their prices to £8.87.
Hundreds of stores across all four retailers will open for the launch tomorrow night.
WH Smith is opening more than 400 stores for the midnight launch and will be selling the book for £10.99.
The retailers are each laying on a string of Potter-themed events including fancy dress competitions, face painting and midnight countdowns.
Waterstone’s gave away 800 free tickets to a podcast event at its Piccadilly branch which were snapped up by fans worldwide.
It expects up to 2,000 people to join the queue outside the store, which is currently headed up by a group of Dutch youngsters.
First in the queue was 20-year-old Roy Oosting from the Netherlands who said: “I am so excited and thrilled to be the first in the queue for this magical evening.
“I came to the Waterstone’s event for the last Harry Potter launch and it had such an amazing atmosphere we had to come back. We met so many great people last time from all over the world and this event is going to be even better.”
Wayne Winstone from the children’s books team at Waterstone’s said: “Our midnight opening at Piccadilly is a fantastic chance for die-hard fans to be the first to get their hands on the new book and promises to be an amazing night.”
Thayne Forbes, joint MD of brand valuation consultancy Intangible Business, said the Harry Potter brand could be worth between £2.4bn and £4.8bn globally.
“The Harry Potter brand is a unique phenomenon and looks set to surpass the existing most valuable character brands in the world, Mickey Mouse and Winnie the Pooh,” he said.
