Potter fans celebrating Harry’s 20th anniversary

HARRY POTTER fans around the world will today celebrate the 20th anniversary of the first book about the wizarding wonder. Harry Potter And The Philosopher’s Stone was first published on June 26 1997 and has since sold more than 450 million copies worldwide in 79 languages.

It has also led to a major movie franchise, a sold-out theatre production and multiple theme parks, as well as a booming memorabilia market.

Author JK Rowling had the idea for the stories about a young wizard and his friends and teachers at a school for magic while on a train journey and wrote the first book in a small cafe in Edinburgh.

Rowling’s follow-up to The Philosopher’s Stone, The Chamber of Secrets, was published the following year in 1998, while Harry Potter And The Prisoner of Azkaban

was published in 1999.

They were followed by Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire, The Order Of The Phoenix, The HalfBlood Prince and The Deathly Hallows.

In honour of the 20-year anniversary, an exhibition celebrating the magic of Harry Potter will open at the British Library on October 20, while Rowling’s publisher Bloomsbury will release four new editions of the book, one for each house at Hogwarts School Of Witchcraft & Wizardry.

The covers feature the crest for each house.