Piccadilly Circus: The Trio Apparates Into Traffic

Piccadilly Circus in London is the famous junction where filmmakers shot a 28-second scene for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part One after moving the book's action from Tottenham Court Road to Shaftesbury Avenue. Production closed the location from midnight to early morning. The landmark also features Alfred Gilbert’s memorial fountain, holding the world’s first statue cast from aluminium, depicting the Greek god Anteros.

London · from the walk “Muggle London, Wizarding Secrets” · audio ~3 min · Generated

Piccadilly Circus, London W1J 9HS

Why was the Harry Potter apparating scene filmed at Piccadilly Circus instead of Tottenham Court Road?

Look around you. The neon signs, the rushing crowds, the roar of traffic... This is Piccadilly Circus, and you are standing on what may be the most Chaotic spot in the entire Harry Potter film saga.......... Picture the scene. It's Deathly Hallows Part One. Death Eaters have just launched their attack on Bill and Fleur's wedding. Panic. Chaos. And Hermione, thinking fast, grabs Harry and Ron and apparates them out of there. They materialize... right Here. They re-appear on this section of road, directly in front of an approaching number nineteen bus. Moving quickly out of its path, they press up against the railings that used to be on the edge of the pavement in front of Gap.......... Now here's a detail most fans miss. In the book, all this action took place on Tottenham Court Road — but the filmmakers moved it here, to Shaftesbury Avenue, which the Circus connects. Why? Because Piccadilly Circus looks simply More cinematic on screen, with those glowing billboards behind three terrified teenagers in wedding clothes.......... And filming it? That was its Own kind of magic. Piccadilly Circus, a hugely busy location, was a challenge to film. In fact, it was closed to the public from midnight to the early morning hours in order to film the scene — which is just twenty-eight seconds long. An entire night shoot... for under half a minute of screen time.......... The railings where Harry, Hermione and Ron pressed themselves after leaping out of the bus's path used to stand right here outside the Gap store. But recent renovation has resulted in the removal of those railings. So the exact spot has been transformed — the film literally shows a London that no longer exists.......... Now, look over at that winged statue on the fountain. Everyone calls it Eros, right? Well, here's a secret worthy of Hogwarts itself. Although the statue is generally known as Eros, it was created as an image of that Greek god's brother, Anteros. The sculptor chose Anteros — the God of Selfless Love — to represent the philanthropic seventh Earl of Shaftesbury. It was the First statue cast from aluminium in the world — its lightness enabled the figure to balance in that balletic posture.......... And the sculptor, Alfred Gilbert? He was paid three thousand pounds for his work, but it cost him seven thousand. Most of that expense went towards the richly decorated base. He was heavily in debt and eventually forced to flee abroad, spending twenty-five years living in Belgium.......... So next time you watch that scene — Harry, Ron, and Hermione stumbling in their wedding clothes, the number nineteen bus bearing down on them, those neon lights blazing — remember: you're standing on the Exact spot where the wizarding world collided with Muggle London. And all around you, this place is Still doing what it's always done — surprising everyone who stumbles into it.

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