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Dublin Live
Dublin Live
Entertainment
Brian Dillon

RDS to be 'transformed into Hogwarts' as Dublin Harry Potter convention returns

Dublin's annual Wizard Con is set to return to the RDS to celebrate all things Harry Potter.

The third edition of the event takes place at the venue on Saturday and Sunday, May 21 and 22.

Run by a team of volunteers for the weekend, profits made from Dublin Wizard Con will go to Barnardos, Dogs Trust and Pieta House.

With tickets now on sale, the event promises a gathering of Harry Potter fans from across Ireland for a weekend of "magic" with actor Q&As, a carnival, tattoos, live entertainment. and other wizard themed attractions.

Founder Melissa Hayward spoke to Dublin Live about the event and what fans of the popular franchise can expect.

She revealed: "We have different classes like dark arts and herbology.

"There's the Dublin Wizard Con House Choir which is powerful and Magical Creatures where there are live owls and people giving talks about them.

"We have Q&As and talks with some of the actors from the films. Some of them will be there in person and some will be there via Zoom.

"We're still revealing a lot of the actors. This year, it's looking like we have Daniel Radcliffe's stunt double.

"We'll have Percy Weasley who will hopefully be hosting."

She added: "In Harry Potter if you're a dark wizard, you have a tattoo. We'll have a tattoo artist there doing real tattoos and then for the underage wizards, we have transfer tattoos."

Melissa described what the previous editions of the convention have looked like, revealing that she and the team of volunteers "transform the RDS into Hogwarts for the weekend".

She said: "A lot of people say it's like arriving in Hogwarts. We've had people cry because it's overwhelming. When you walk in the door, we have all the sets from the films.

"I think it's a place where people can be themselves. Wizard Con is very inclusive.

"What's incredibly important to me is that sense of childlike fun and play. You can just escape to the wizard world for a while when the real world gets too heavy."

Describing who attends the convention, Melissa revealed: "A lot of our attendees are people who grew up with the books. I grew up as they were coming out.

"There are also people my age who are bringing their kids to Wizard Con. That's magic."

You can get your Dublin Wizard Con tickets by clicking here.

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