Studio Tour London To Host “Harry Potter” Summer Screenings and Bludgers and Broomsticks Events!
As if you needed more reasons to take a trip to the Harry Potter Studio Tour, this summer they will be hosting special screenings of all eight Potter films! Plus, they are hosting Bludgers and Broomsticks, a feature exploring how magical sports and wizarding games were brought to life on screen, for the first time ever!
The Harry Potter film screenings will take place each Monday and Tuesday beginning on July 7 and run for eight weeks through August 26. The screenings sound like an awesome way to cap off a visit to the Studio Tour. From the press release:
Every Monday and Tuesday from 7th July until 26th August, visitors to these exclusive screenings will begin by exploring the Studio Tour (which includes a chance to taste Butterbeer) before grabbing a hot snack, popcorn and a drink and then settling down in the Studio Tour’s cinema to watch their chosen film.
The dates for each film screening are as follows:
July 7 & 8: Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone
July 14 & 15: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
July 21 & 22: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
July 28 & 29: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
August 4 & 5: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
August 11 & 12: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
August 18 & 19: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1
August 25 & 26: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2
Overlapping with the screenings will be another new feature at the Studio Tour – Bludgers and Broomsticks, which runs from July 18 to September 1. Bludgers and Broomsticks is aimed at giving an in-depth look at how wizarding games were brought to life on screen. It sounds amazing:
From Friday, 18th July to Monday, 1st September, visitors will discover how a combination of special and visual effects were used to create the illusion of flight and to make chess pieces move – and will get the chance to test green screen technology for themselves.
Head Prop Maker Pierre Bohanna’s team will demonstrate the techniques used to hand-craft broomsticks throughout the Harry Potter film series. After the debuts of the Nimbus 2000 and the Firebolt, in Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, respectively, brooms were made to match their owners’ personalities – Arthur Weasley’s even features pedals and a seat from a Muggle bicycle!
Visitors will also get the chance to see the life-size pawns from Harry, Ron, and Hermione’s epic game of Wizard’s Chess in the first movie, chat with staff members wearing authentic Quidditch robes, fly on a broomstick in front of a green screen, and see the rattling ball crate featured in the scene where Oliver Wood introduces Harry to Quidditch for the first time. Plus, a rare item designed by Miraphora Mina will be on display for the first time ever!
A board game homage to Quidditch, entitled Snitch Snatcher!, was designed especially for Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by graphic designer Miraphora Mina, and this will be on display for the first time. Featuring a miniature replica of the Hogwarts pitch, the game includes cardboard models of the spectators’ stands for all four houses.
It sounds like this summer at the Studio Tour is going to be way better than any summer Harry ever spent with the Dursleys! Will you be making a visit this summer? Which events would you like to attend?