Harry Potter exhibition breaks all attendance records in first days

Bailiffgate Museum’s new Illustrating Harry Potter exhibition has broken all attendance records at the venue.

The exhibition, put together by Seven Stories: The National Centre for Children’s Books in Newcastle, and Bloomsbury Children’s Books, showcases original illustrations, sketches, models and final prints from the new edition of J.K Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, illustrated by Jim Kay.

Four minutes after opening the exhibition on Saturday, Bailiffgate welcomed its first visitor, Marlene from Germany, a major Harry Potter fan.

Marlene was quickly followed by two women from Glasgow who loved the creativity on display. Shortly after, three Durham University visitors arrived, who gamely dressed up and played every game in the gallery.

Volunteer Jane Mann said: “Overall the museum has never had so many visitors, and from all across the age spectrum. Sunday was a bit quieter, but still as many people visited in one day as usually come in a week.”

The exhibition runs at the museum until June.