In pictures: Harry Potter returns around the world

Harry Potter magic hit Asia on Sunday morning, as aspiring witches and wizards crowded into bookstores to get their hands on the first copies of a new play that imagines the hero as an adult.

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. Nearly 300 fans rushed through the doors of Kinokuniya bookstore on Singapore’s Orchard Road at 7:01 am (2301 GMT Saturday) to become one of the first people in the world to see the new script.

Widely seen as the eighth Harry Potter instalment, 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.

Here we look at 25 pictures of the day the new script was unveiled.

A young fan puts her head on piles of the new Harry Potter book in Karachi's Dolmen Mall. PHOTO: AYSHA SALEEM

Harry Potter fans dress in Harry Potter gear as they await the new book launch at Dolmen Mall, Karachi. PHOTO: AYSHA SALEEM

Copies of the book of the play of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child parts One and Two are displayed at a bookstore in London, Britain. PHOTO: REUTERS

Queues stretch around the corner of Eagle Place off Piccadilly from outside Waterstones bookshop on Piccadilly in central London. PHOTO: AFP

People queue up to purchase copies of British author J.K. Rowling’s latest book in the Potter series. PHOTO: AFP

New copies of the Harry Potter book are packed in bags and ready to be sold at a bookstore. PHOTO: AFP

An an Indian fan dressed in Harry Potter costume poses for a photograph during a pre-launch event to mark the release of the latest Harry Potter book "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child" in Mumbai. PHOTO: AFP

An Indian fan of Harry Potter poses for a picture, Mumbai. PHOTO: AFP

A mother (R) dresses her daughter up as a Harry Potter character before taking photos in front of a poster advertising the new book on the day of its release at a bookstore in Hong Kong. PHOTO: AFP

Fans rush as a book store opens its door for the launch of the new book "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child" in Singapore on July 31, 2016. PHOTO: AFP

A birthday cake is lit for Harry Potter and J.K. Rowling at the launch of the new Harry Potter script books outside Asia Books in Bangkok on July 31, 2016. PHOTO: AFP

A Harry Potter fan dressed as Draco Malfoy waits to receive the first of the new Harry Potter script books to be launched in Thailand outside Asia Books in Bangkok . PHOTO: AFP

A Harry Potter fan dressed as Doby waits to receive the first of the new Harry Potter script books to be launched in Thailand outside Asia Books in Bangkok . PHOTO: AFP

Harry Potter fan Santipat Huangsawat (R) receives the first of the new Harry Potter script book to be launched in Thailand outside Asia Books in Bangkok. PHOTO: AFP

A young girl clutches onto the new script as it was released around the world on Sunday. PHOTO: AFP

An owl is pictured next to people queuing up to purchase copies of British author J.K. Rowling s latest book in the Potter series. PHOTO: AFP

An actor performs before the launching of British author J.K. Rowling s latest book in the Potter series. PHOTO: AFP

Actors costumed as characters of the famous series of Harry Potter fantasy novels by J.K. Rowling perform at the facade of Lello, a Gothic Revival style bookstore in the historic centre of Porto, Portugal. PHOTO: AFP

Harry Potter fans line up in order to be the first to receive the new Harry Potter script book inside Waterstones bookshop on Piccadilly in central. PHOTO: AFP

Harry Potter fans, Fran Plagge (R) and Lottie (L) will be first and second to receive the new Harry Potter script book inside Waterstones bookshop on Piccadilly in central London. PHOTO: AFP

Harry Potter fans take a selfie photograph inside Waterstones bookshop on Piccadilly in central London. PHOTO: AFP

Fans play the fictional game of Qudditch at an event to mark the release of the book of the play of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child parts One and Two at a bookstore in London, Britain. PHOTO: REUTERS

Fans in costume queue at an event to mark the release of the book of the play of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child parts One and Two at a bookstore in London, Britain. PHOTO: REUTERS

Fans in costume queue at an event to mark the release of the book of the play of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child parts One and Two at a bookstore in London, Britain. PHOTO: REUTERS

Fans queue at an event to mark the release of the book of the play of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child parts One and Two at a bookstore in London, Britain. PHOTO: REUTERS