Harry Potter fans can plunge into the magical world of wizards thanks to an exhibition dedicated to the film franchise opening in the Belgian capital. 
 
Visitors can experience first-hand what life at wizarding school Hogwarts is like by wandering through the Gryffindor&#39;s common room, strolling through the so-called Forbidden Forest or just by sitting in gamekeeper Hagrids&#39; huge chair in the rustic-style hut. 
 
The exhibition&#39;s press officer, Peter Monbailleu, said it was not necessary to be a fan of the books and films to enjoy the exhibition. 
 
&quot;It is made for the fans in the first place. If you are not a fan, you will definitely enjoy it. If you are a fan, you will love it. This is Harry Potter&#39;s fans dream come true,&quot; he said. 
 
Monballieu claimed the the exhibition turned out to be a big success with already one hundred thousand tickets sold online before the opening on 30 June. 
 
Monballieu explains the success of the franchise by the mix of adventure and universal values it carries. 
 
&quot;I think the whole Harry Potter saga is a story in which everybody has some characters that they can identify with. It is a universal story, it is about courage and it is about connection between people and it is about hanging in there. Keeping yourself together and adventure. It is one big adventure so everybody loves the story and an adventure,&quot; Monballieu said. 
 
Caroline Biassinne, who visited the venue with her sister Sophie, said she enjoyed the Brussels event. 
 
&quot;It was great, really cool. You could see many things, especially the props, lots of props. That was especially great. So now one can imagine how it was like shooting the films,&quot; she said. 
 
Xavier Pottillius visited the exhibition with a group of children. He said he enjoyed it despite not being a fan of the series. 
 
&quot;I find it a very nice exhibition, even though I&#39;m not a Harry Potter fan myself. I&#39;m here with a group of children and the children love this exhibition a lot,&quot; he said. 
 
The touring exhibition premiered in Chicago in 2009 and is in Brussels until mid-September. 
 
(Reuters)

The exhibition is dedicated to the film franchise. 'It's a dream come true for Harry Potter fans,' said the venue's press officer

Harry Potter fans can plunge into the magical world of wizards thanks to an exhibition dedicated to the film franchise opening in the Belgian capital. Visitors can experience first-hand what life at wizarding school Hogwarts is like by wandering through the Gryffindor's common room, strolling through the so-called Forbidden Forest or just by sitting in gamekeeper Hagrids' huge chair in the rustic-style hut. The exhibition's press officer, Peter Monbailleu, said it was not necessary to be a fan of the books and films to enjoy the exhibition. "It is made for the fans in the first place. If you are not a fan, you will definitely enjoy it. If you are a fan, you will love it. This is Harry Potter's fans dream come true," he said. Monballieu claimed the the exhibition turned out to be a big success with already one hundred thousand tickets sold online before the opening on 30 June. Monballieu explains the success of the franchise by the mix of adventure and universal values it carries. "I think the whole Harry Potter saga is a story in which everybody has some characters that they can identify with. It is a universal story, it is about courage and it is about connection between people and it is about hanging in there. Keeping yourself together and adventure. It is one big adventure so everybody loves the story and an adventure," Monballieu said. Caroline Biassinne, who visited the venue with her sister Sophie, said she enjoyed the Brussels event. "It was great, really cool. You could see many things, especially the props, lots of props. That was especially great. So now one can imagine how it was like shooting the films," she said. Xavier Pottillius visited the exhibition with a group of children. He said he enjoyed it despite not being a fan of the series. "I find it a very nice exhibition, even though I'm not a Harry Potter fan myself. I'm here with a group of children and the children love this exhibition a lot," he said. The touring exhibition premiered in Chicago in 2009 and is in Brussels until mid-September. (Reuters)

Harry Potter exhibition brings touch of magic to Brussels

Queues snaked for meters at London&#39;s Palace Theatre on Tuesday (June 7). The reason? The next installment in the &#39;Harry Potter&#39; saga.

&#39;Harry Potter and the Cursed Child&#39; opened for the first of several previews at the central London venue&nbsp;and fans lucky enough to secure tickets for the event waited anxiously to get into the theatre.

The story - which is split into two parts - follows title character Harry Potter (played by Jamie Parker) and his school friends Ron Weasley (Paul Thornley) and Hermione Granger (Noma Dumezweni) in adulthood.

Set 19 years after JK Rowling&#39;s last work &#39;The Deathly Hallows&#39;, the &#39;Cursed Child&#39; was adapted from a story written by Rowling and director John Tiffany - and brought to the stage by playwright Jack Thorne.

Fans were thrilled with the story which focuses on the title character and his youngest son Albus.

Harry is shown as an overworked Ministry of Magic employee coping with his son&#39;s struggles to deal with being the son of the famous wizard.

However, there has been very little other detail about the play revealed - as JK Rowling has requested that audiences don&#39;t spoil the story for others.

Harry Potter enthusiasts were thrilled by the play.

Super fan Callum Fawcett said, &quot;I really liked the films but after seeing this, I would say, &quot;Forget the films&quot;. I mean, this is fantastic. I would definitely come to watch this. It&#39;s got everything. It&#39;s got the real magic that the films miss out, if you know what I mean.&quot;

It seems as though the play will appeal most to super fans, rather than the casual Harry Potter enthusiast.

David Rolls said the plot is easy to get confused over if you don&#39;t know the stories inside out. &quot;I must admit I got a bit lost with some of the characters. You have to be a real super fan, I think, to get into the story,&quot; he said.

Perhaps the biggest fan in attendance was Samantha Kent, who arrived at the venue at 12pm - seven and a half hours before the show started. She showed off her numerous Harry Potter themed tattoos and explained why she got to the theatre so early.

&quot;Because I was photographed as the first person to queue up in Birmingham for the last book, and I kind of had to beat my record. Apart from that, I&#39;m a massive fan,&quot; said Kent.

There has been some controversy over the casting of the play - with criticism that some of the actors don&#39;t look the same as the cast who played the characters in the films.

In particular, the decision to cast Noma Dumezweni as Hermione Granger in the play has provoked debate as the actress is black, whereas Emma Watson who plays the same character in the films is white.

JK Rowling has hit out at critics, saying she never specified what ethnicity any of the characters were in the books.

Many of the audience said it didn&#39;t matter what the play actors looked like.

&quot;Personally, I feel it&#39;s how they [the characters] should have been all along. Hermione particulary, as a woman of colour, is just groundbreaking and it&#39;s amazing and she suits the role so, so well,&quot; said&nbsp;Jess Hart, a fan of the series.

Previews of &#39;The Cursed Child&#39; continue until July 30 when the play opens officially.

'Harry Potter and the Cursed Child' opened for the first of several previews at the central London venue. Previews of 'The Cursed Child' continue until July 30 when the play opens officially

Queues snaked for meters at London's Palace Theatre on Tuesday (June 7). The reason? The next installment in the 'Harry Potter' saga. 'Harry Potter and the Cursed Child' opened for the first of several previews at the central London venue and fans lucky enough to secure tickets for the event waited anxiously to get into the theatre. The story - which is split into two parts - follows title character Harry Potter (played by Jamie Parker) and his school friends Ron Weasley (Paul Thornley) and Hermione Granger (Noma Dumezweni) in adulthood. Set 19 years after JK Rowling's last work 'The Deathly Hallows', the 'Cursed Child' was adapted from a story written by Rowling and director John Tiffany - and brought to the stage by playwright Jack Thorne. Fans were thrilled with the story which focuses on the title character and his youngest son Albus. Harry is shown as an overworked Ministry of Magic employee coping with his son's struggles to deal with being the son of the famous wizard. However, there has been very little other detail about the play revealed - as JK Rowling has requested that audiences don't spoil the story for others. Harry Potter enthusiasts were thrilled by the play. Super fan Callum Fawcett said, "I really liked the films but after seeing this, I would say, "Forget the films". I mean, this is fantastic. I would definitely come to watch this. It's got everything. It's got the real magic that the films miss out, if you know what I mean." It seems as though the play will appeal most to super fans, rather than the casual Harry Potter enthusiast. David Rolls said the plot is easy to get confused over if you don't know the stories inside out. "I must admit I got a bit lost with some of the characters. You have to be a real super fan, I think, to get into the story," he said. Perhaps the biggest fan in attendance was Samantha Kent, who arrived at the venue at 12pm - seven and a half hours before the show started. She showed off her numerous Harry Potter themed tattoos and explained why she got to the theatre so early. "Because I was photographed as the first person to queue up in Birmingham for the last book, and I kind of had to beat my record. Apart from that, I'm a massive fan," said Kent. There has been some controversy over the casting of the play - with criticism that some of the actors don't look the same as the cast who played the characters in the films. In particular, the decision to cast Noma Dumezweni as Hermione Granger in the play has provoked debate as the actress is black, whereas Emma Watson who plays the same character in the films is white. JK Rowling has hit out at critics, saying she never specified what ethnicity any of the characters were in the books. Many of the audience said it didn't matter what the play actors looked like. "Personally, I feel it's how they [the characters] should have been all along. Hermione particulary, as a woman of colour, is just groundbreaking and it's amazing and she suits the role so, so well," said Jess Hart, a fan of the series. Previews of 'The Cursed Child' continue until July 30 when the play opens officially.

JK Rowling's newest work brings magic back to life

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Harry Potter exhibition brings touch of magic to Brussels

JK Rowling's newest work brings magic back to life