undreds of Wizarding World fans congregated at the Fantastic Beasts: Wizarding World Wands supporting Lumos installation on Peters Hill (London) for a wand training lesson with Paul Harris, Wizarding World wand choreographer
Budding wizards were put through their paces at the first of three Wizarding Wednesday events, in celebration of Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald.
The installation, part of the City of London Arts Initiative for public art, was created to help raise awareness for J.K. Rowling’s international children’s charity Lumos in the lead-up to the 16th Novemberrelease of Warner Bros. Pictures’ highly anticipated new Wizarding World™adventure Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald.
Head prop maker Pierre Bohanna, who created the wands used in theFantastic Beasts and Harry Potter films in close collaboration with J.K. Rowling, spoke about how it felt to see his props transformed into fifteen-foot models to be enjoyed by the public. “It’s amazing to see something you’ve worked on for two decades celebrated in such an awe-inspiring way,” Bohanna stated. “Each of these wands were born in the extraordinary imagination of J.K. Rowling, and bringing them to life has been a labour of love for Stuart Craig, myself, and all the filmmakers, artists and actors who’ve had a hand in their creation for the films. To now see them realized in truly larger-than-life fashion for fans to enjoy is truly gratifying, and I thank Wild Creations for their wonderful work.”
The giant wands illuminate Peter’s Hill from 6:45 p.m., with a short light display to music every 30 minutes, and deluminate at 10:45 p.m. each evening until 13th November.
Fans visiting the installation can still also attend the following activities taking place at the site each Wizarding Wednesday:
- Wednesday, 31stOctober(Halloween): Come and listen to a talk on the wands, with a particular focus on the Dark Arts;
- Wednesday, 7thNovember: Watch a military marching band perform music from the Harry Potter and Fantastic Beastsfilms.
For further details and timings, please visit www.fanatsticbeasts.co.uk/wandsready
