“Harry Potter” Guinness World Record Broken in Germany

by · August 30, 2023

One Harry Potter was enough for the wizarding world, but in Hamburg, Germany, fans took to the streets in a successful attempt to beat the Guinness World Record for the largest gathering of Harrys in the world.

A total of 1,758 fans took to the town hall square in Hamburg to form the magical gathering in an event organized by publishers Carlsen-Verlag to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the publication of the first Harry Potter book in the German language. Fans of all ages turned up in their black capes with the iconic lightning-bolt scar painted on their foreheads, with some unfortunately missing out on the opportunity to get counted. Over 4,000 fans joined in on the celebrations, which also included an appearance from German actor Rufus Beck, who narrated the German version of the Harry Potter audiobooks.

 

 

The record has previously been held by several other cities. Most recently, fans in Bandon, Ireland, broke the record in 2019 when 1,088 Harrys gathered at the Taste of Bandon festival, beating the previous record of 997 schoolchildren, which was set in 2017 in Perth, Australia. Other cities and festivals have attempted to break the record set in Ireland, but Hamburg is the only one to have managed it. How long do you think it will be until the record is broken again?

Neave Williamson

I've been a proud Slytherin for as long as I can remember, and love taking inspiration from the Wizarding World for short films.