The Harry Potter Celebration was just getting underway in Orlando on Friday when news of John Hurt’s passing broke. Their tribute was beautiful.
These are hard time in the Potterverse, even as their fandom expands in new directions with Harry Potter and the Cursed Child on Broadway and Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them in the theaters. These are hard times, because, as we reached the year that was “19 years later” all those years ago, the passing of the generations has begun. Last year, we lost Alan Rickman, who played Severus Snape. Only one year on, we lose John Hurt, aka the Wand Maker, Ollivander.
The Harry Potter Celebration, which is held at the end of January every year in the Wizarding World of Harry Potter theme park at Universal Studios Orlando, was lucky last year. Rickman’s passing was untimely, but happened with a couple of weeks to go before the Celebration was under way. There was time to create tribute videos to show to the assembled throngs, and organize wand raisings, and those stars who were attending to come up with thoughtful answers when asked about working with him.
John Hurt’s passing on the other hand, came far too late for the organizers to work it in properly. As the Opening Night livestream was broadcasting, social media was still trying to determine if reports of his death were a hoax. It wasn’t until an hour after the fireworks had finished that the BBC confirmed via Hurt’s publicist that the actor had indeed passed.
With such sad tidings sure to reach park goers by morning, the organizers had to scramble to come up with an quick way to pay tribute to the actor, whose character of Ollivander is one of their key attractions in the park (the better to sell wand-branded merchandise to eager children.) The solution was actually rather brilliant.
As the second day of #HPCelebration begins, wands are raised outside Ollivanders in memory of John Hurt. pic.twitter.com/ZWtEDFZaLY
— Wizarding World (@wizardingworld) January 28, 2017
A touching moment at #HPCelebration to remember actor John Hurt. pic.twitter.com/aKORuau81q
— Universal Orlando Resort (@UniversalORL) January 28, 2017
A fantastic tribute–the entire square in front of Ollivanders wand shop was crowded-to-bursting.
Next: 20 Reasons the Harry Potter Movies are Christmas Movies
For more from the Harry Potter Celebration, check out our sister site, Wizards&Whatnot, and their ongoing coverage of the weekend.