Daniel Radcliffe at Harry Potter & the Half-Blood Prince - World Premiere - London - Arrivals

London: 7 July 2009
It is now a long-standing tradition that it always rains at Potter Premières. Perhaps he whose name cannot be spoken had something to do with it. He pulled out all the stops for this one. Three months of rain in three hours one newspaper reported. I can believe that. At least this year there were no hailstones [at least not in my locale, but one fan comment indicates there were where they were standing]. As the film shows it really rained hard for much of the event. Now the back-story. I reconnoitred the Square Monday evening and as expected the fans had landed. Tents and improvised shelters appeared alongside the east side of the garden. I grabbed my chairs and camped out myself with the usual suspects over by the main Odeon. Total campers - about sixty overnight and that number tripled first thing in the morning. And what chaos ensued as the various trucks and workers did the final preparations. I gave up my Odeon door spot and with the help of a friend managed to get a great spot in the garden where an entire Hogwarts set had been built. It was a long wait till the action started at six. The intermittent torrential rain started many hours before that though. Folks were soaked, their pictures for signature soaked and their cameras soaked yet their spirits were not dampened - they were about to see their idols. With a bit of well timed shouting and screaming from the fans around me, the stars were all happy to come over to us and sign, chat and pose. And the look on their faces when a wished for star stood right in front of them was priceless, and it made the misery of the weather evaporate. Now what are the chances of rain at the remaining two Potter Premières in 2010 and 2011? I for one will not be taking bets, just an umbrella.