Harry Potter magic hits Asia as fans celebrate new book

Launch parties for 'Harry Potter and the Cursed Child' were held hours after the play's premiere in London, setting the stage for a return of the series that has captivated readers and movie audiences worldwide, AFP reported.

Nearly 300 fans rushed through the doors of Kinokuniya bookstore on Singapore's Orchard Road to become one of the first people in the world to see the new script.

Student Samantha Chua, 24, who was first in line, said she had been waiting outside the fourth-floor bookstore since 5 a.m.

Widely seen as the eighth Harry Potter installment, the play is set 19 years after the end of the last book and features a grown-up Potter working at the Ministry of Magic.

Like many of his fans, Potter has now become an adult and has three children with his wife Ginny Weasley.

He still has his trademark round-rimmed glasses and the scar on his head — a permanent reminder of his nemesis Lord Voldemort — but must now help his youngest son Albus confront the family's dark past.

The script's global kickoff was timed to coincide with its launch at midnight in London, after the play's world premiere at the Palace Theater earlier in the evening. July 31 is also author J. K. Rowling's birthday.