On 27th September, Harry Potter fans were in for a treat when the world-famous Empire State Building was lit up in Gryffindor red, Slytherin green, Ravenclaw blue and Hufflepuff yellow to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Scholastic publishing Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone in the U.S – the first of seven in the bestselling book series of all time.
Photo Credit: Bryan R. Smith
As the sun set, the world-famous Tower Lights lit up with fans both in and outside of New York able to celebrate with the Empire State Building live cam. For those in New York, Scholastic in collaboration with the Empire State Building and Wizarding World franchise partners, Harry Potter New York and Harry Potter: The Exhibition, had something special for fans up on the 86th Floor Observation Deck.
There they found a pop-up cart handing out free copies of the anniversary edition of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone and Butterbeer (courtesy of Harry Potter New York).
Photo Credit: Bryan R. Smith
Guests were also encouraged to get into the spirit of things by dressing to impress in their finest Hogwarts house attire. There were some excellent efforts. Firstly, there were these stylish Gryffindors…
And possibly the tiniest Harry Potter fan we have seen! What an excellent Harry costume…
Photo Credit: Bryan R. Smith
Many guests also enjoyed the iconic view from the Observation Deck – with their copies of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone of course.
Photo Credit: Bryan R. Smith
Want to see more magical moments atop the Empire State Building? Check out the video below…
This fantastic celebration of a book that has created a new generation of readers and sold 600 million copies worldwide, was only part of Scholastic’s 25th anniversary campaign. You can find out more information about all the fun things they have planned here.
