Rowling bids farewell to Harry as fans celebrate new book

Harry Potter magic hit Asia on Sunday, as aspiring witches and wizards crowded into bookstores to get their hands on the first copies of a new play that imagines the hero as an adult.
Launch parties for “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child” were held hours after the play’s premiere in London, setting the stage for a return of the series that has captivated readers and movie audiences worldwide.
The play that opened to swooning reviews and delighted gasps from the audience marks the end of the journey for the beloved boy wizard, his creator J.K. Rowling said at the play’s premiere in London on Saturday.
“He goes on a very big journey during these two plays and then, yeah, I think we’re done. This is the next generation, you know,” said Rowling, who later appeared on stage during a standing ovation at the end of the show. “So, I’m thrilled to see it realized so beautifully but, no, Harry is done now.”
Nearly 300 fans rushed through the doors of Kinokuniya bookstore on Singapore’s Orchard Road to become one of the first people in the world to see the new script.
Student Samantha Chua, 24, who along with her boyfriend was first in line, said she had been waiting outside the fourth-floor bookstore since 5:00 am.
“We were here so early that the mall wasn’t even open yet so we had to come up through the cargo lifts,” she told AFP, adding that it was “all worth it.”
“I grew up reading the books and I have a special place for them on my shelves but this will be my crowning glory,” added Chua, who was wearing a Harry Potter-themed sweater.
In India, fans began lining up outside shops which had opened early especially for the script’s release.
“It’s been amazing to see 10-year-old fans and 70-year-old grandmothers turn up at our shops,” Shilpi Agarwal, a spokeswoman for Om book shops, said in New Delhi.
“We’ve got an excellent response,” she told AFP, adding that the store would be laying on Potter-themed activities throughout the day.
In Bangkok, around 40 fans, many wielding wands and other wizarding paraphernalia, gathered outside a large downtown mall overnight.

Source: Arab News