Harry Potter fans boo King’s Cross station over event cancellation

Hundreds of fans of the Harry Potter franchise were seen at King’s Cross Station in London, booing loudly in disapproval. Surprisingly, JK Rowling had nothing to do with it.

As fans of the fantasy book and film series thronged the iconic London train station over the weekend, they were expecting a special announcement to be blasted over the loudspeakers.

In previous years, King’s Cross Station has celebrated the first day of September with a variety of ‘Back to Hogwarts’ celebrations, including decorations, cosplayers and a special announcement from the Conductor at exactly 11am.

Here are some images from last year’s event, when thousands of fans brought the station to a standstill with a thunderous countdown to the announcement.

@uktravel #fyp #harrypotter #hogwarts #hogwartssexperess #hogwartsedit ♬ original sound – uktravel

It’s a pretty cute tradition, even if you’re not one of the millennials who have their Hogwarts house in their Instagram bio.

However, this year, the hundreds of fans who flocked to Platform 9 and 3/4 were not greeted with music, announcements or decorations.

When the clock struck 11, the only sound heard was silence…followed by hundreds of people booing as their tradition had been canceled.

@mylondoncorner Hogwarts 2024 Cancelled ❌ On September 1st, Harry Potter fans gather at King’s Cross Station to celebrate the 9¾ Hogwarts Express leg of the series, an iconic moment. The event is cancelled for a whole year because it caused too much inconvenience to passengers, creating renovation problems and delays in the station, one of the busiest in London 🚂🥲 #mylondoncorner #harrypotter #hp #harrypotterita #danielradcliffe #harrypotteritalia #harrypotterfan # kingscross #kingscrossstation #london #londra #londra❤️ #londra🇬🇧 ♬ original sound – MyLondonCorner

@sreestarsreestar i guess we won’t be going to school this year guys 😭 #kingscross #hogwartsannouncement #harrypotter #fail ♬ Harry Potter Theme Song – Fail Recorder Cover – MEMESVICES

I may be an asshole, but this is pretty hilarious.

Those few seconds of silence between cheers and boos, when Harry Potter fans realize there won’t be an announcement? It’s the perfect moment to build and release tension. Comedy gold.

The only thing that could make this better would be if someone yelled, “THAT’S MY SON, THAT’S MY BOY!” That would have been a perfect reference.

The cancellation of this year’s Back To Hogwarts event wasn’t a last-minute change, however. Fans had been warned months in advance not to travel to King’s Cross Station in the hopes of attending a Potter-themed party.

Last July, Warner Brothers (which owns the Harry Potter (franchise) has announced that there will be no event at the station this year.

“On 1st September, fans are strongly advised not to travel to King’s Cross as there will be no event, departure board or countdown at the station,” the statement read.

The reason for the cancellation was simple enough: it seriously disrupted the whole ‘station operations’ that King’s Cross is supposed to carry out.

“Although our station concourses are sometimes used for commercial events, our priority must always be passengers trying to make their train journey,” a station spokesperson told the BBC.

“After starting with a small number of fans greeting the departure of the Hogwarts Express, the celebrations have grown considerably in popularity and last year’s event attracted thousands of people to King’s Cross, making it challenging for us as the station operator.”

@graysanne Harry Potter has cancelled his Hogsmeade trip due to security reasons. Sad! #Hogsmeade #harrypotter #kingscross #uk #london ♬ original sound – Grace Alvarez Pelayo

Fans were offered other options to celebrate online or at locations other than the station, but that didn’t stop hundreds of people from showing up in costume and holding a countdown.

It is unclear whether these fans missed the announcement of the cancellation or were in denial about the event’s cancellation.

What we do know is that adult asses Harry Potter The fans made a lot of noise, and I’m so glad I’m not in the same room as them.

I can’t wait for this TERF author to say she’ll never forgive the station for this. Ugh, I miss the days when her brain wasn’t being destroyed by the black mold in her house.

(Image: Getty/TikTok)