Credit: UniversalThe Harry Potter fandom is making it impossible to live in Edinburgh, and local residents are getting fed up with their ancient city being turned into a playground for the boy wizard.
It is perhaps an understatement to say that Harry Potter has succeeded like few franchises of any kind ever do. While the adventures of The Boy Who Lived may be out-grossed by the likes of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and Star Wars, those series had decades of lead time that J.K. Rowling’s works have made up for in a hurry.
Since Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone was first published in 1997 (and re-titled The Sorcerer’s Stone for American audiences), the franchise has become a sprawling set of two different film series, an upcoming HBO seven-season TV reboot, a critically acclaimed stage play, multiple video games, and The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, a theme park entirely based around the quirky world of magic.
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However, the Universal theme parks across the world are not the only place that Harry Potter fans go to nerd out about the magical franchise. It turns out that hordes of them regularly flood the Scottish city of Edinburgh, and people are not happy about it.
Edinburgh has been associated with the franchise since nearly the beginning, with J.K. Rowling writing significant portions of the books around the city, including the Elephant House coffee shop and the Balmoral Hotel. Reportedly, the iconic Diagon Alley of the series is based on Victoria Street, the most photographed feature of the city; pretty impressive, considering Edinburgh dates from before the seventh century.
It turns out that Wizarding World fans are actually starting to get on the nerves of people who actually live there. In a new essay for Inews, writer Sarah Manavis says Edinburgh has “become a dystopian commercial playground built for tourists and tourists only,” specifically calling out Harry Potter fans.
Manavis writes, “As a local in Edinburgh over the past few years, every weekend, my friends and I play a masochistic game. If I try to contend with the city center, will my day be ruined by TikTokers, Harry Potter tourists, Outlander fans, or some combination of all three? Whichever you guess, the answer will always be right. But – no matter – you also always lose.”
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She continues, condemning the rapid changes demanded by the forces of consumerism and fandom:
It’s difficult to go out and not see hordes of people wearing Hogwarts capes, blocking streets while filming videos in front of every historic building. Businesses have changed to meet this demand – beloved local institutions, some of which have been around for more than half a century, are shutting to make way for overpriced chains, tat shops and, most often, either implicitly or explicitly wizard-related cafes.
Sadly, this is a Pandora’s box that cannot be closed. There are numerous tours that bring Hogwarts fans around Edinburgh, highlighting buildings Alnwick Castle and Greyfriars Kirkyard cemetery primarily for their connection to the fictional franchise rather than their centuries of history. Maybe Harry Potter tours will start to ease up, or the fandom will calm down a little…but probably not.
Do you think it’s a problem for city residents to have to deal with pop culture tourists?