People dressed in black cloaks swarmed the Tube in London on Friday, the polyester swishing as they passed through the gates at King’s Cross.
In the station, children in plastic round glasses trailed behind their parents as they pushed through the crowds. A small girl fainted. Train passengers complained. Then, at 10.59, the countdown began.
Phones and wands were lifted in the air, and the announcement was made: “The Hogwarts Express is now departing from platform 9 and 3/4. All students are kindly reminded to stick to your ticket and board the carriage at once. All aboard.”
The annual “Back to Hogwarts” event brings together thousands of Harry Potter fans from around the world, all convening at the London train station to celebrate the day that Harry, Hermione, Ron and their friends would board the train to return to the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry for the year.
As described in JK Rowling’s books, the Hogwarts Express leaves from the King’s Cross platform of 9 and 3/4 – recreated as a year-round photo op for tourists – and which on this day in particular, shows up on the official railway station board.
It began years ago as an organic fan event, with a handful of people, many of them in costume, commemorating the 11am departure.
It has now been taken over by Warner Bros as an official, global event, with three days of butterbeer and photo ops on offer to take advantage of the continuing Pottermania.
There were even a bit of celebrity presence, with some of the cast of the Harry Potter-adjacent play The Cursed Child making announcements. But the real event was the community and sheer geeky spirit celebrating a moment of Harry Potter fiction making its way into real life.
Bryan Hewitt and his daughter Lindsey came down from Cumbria, in north England, dressed as Hagrid and a Hogwarts student.
Mr Hewitt made a remarkable groundskeeper: a man of a sizeable stature, he needed only his wig, beard and long brown cloak to be transformed into a ringer for the half-giant.
“We’ve been to comic cons before,” he said. “But this has been the best so far. Just the amount of people and the reactions we’ve been getting. Little children start looking at me” – pointing to his knees – “and then just keep going up.”
Children abounded, most of them with parents who had braved a rail strike to get them to the 11am train announcement.
“We travelled two hours for five minutes,” grumbled one mother from Teddington, normally an hour’s journey away.
Glitches also abounded: the announcement was difficult to hear and the actors were simply in the middle of the station, with no raised platform or screen by which any of the families beyond the front row could see them.
Everything went a bit better after the announcement was made. Fans were free to wander around taking pictures of one another, exchanging stories of how far they’d come (generally far) and how much they’d seen (generally little).
One group of four came from the Black Forest in Germany. They hadn’t travelled solely for the event but had worked it into their itinerary, along with the Warner Bros studio where the films were made, and had packed Hogwarts uniforms in preparation.
“It is just so cool to be part of the celebration of Harry Potter,” said Dennis Wiesner, in Gryffindor colours.
Others were repeat visitors, having first heard of the event in fan forums or via the Harry Potter website’s mailing list.
There was the inevitable gripe that the event had lost its soul, as the official organisers directed people to the Harry Potter gift shop in the station. But still they were there, with robes and wands aloft.
Two small fans from north London turned the event into a bickering session, with the sticking point being who was more of a fan – remarkable argument considering one child had read all the books, and the other had read zero. What was striking from their discussion is the durability of the Harry Potter franchise.
About a third of the audience was born well after the last Harry Potter was published and were younger than the event itself. These new readers might not have the luck of growing up in tandem with Harry, Ron and Hermione, but that hasn’t stopped a new generation of fans from convening online and, for one special day, in reality.
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Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
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Born in Dibba, Sharjah in 1972.
He is the eldest among 11 brothers and sisters.
He was educated in Sharjah schools and is a graduate of UAE University in Al Ain.
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Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
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The Uefa Awards winners
Uefa Men's Player of the Year: Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool)
Uefa Women's Player of the Year: Lucy Bronze (Lyon)
Best players of the 2018/19 Uefa Champions League
Goalkeeper: Alisson (Liverpool)
Defender: Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool)
Midfielder: Frenkie de Jong (Ajax)
Forward: Lionel Messi (Barcelona)
Uefa President's Award: Eric Cantona
