London's mayor has officially opened a spacious new square in front of London's King's Cross station, known to Harry Potter fans across the world as the home of the fictional Platform 9 ¾.
The tree-studded square, unveiled today, replaces a green metal canopy which had long marred the view of the Victorian railway station.
King's Cross dates back to the 1850s and handles some 47 million passengers annually. In J K Rowling's Harry Potter books, student wizards use a secret platform at the station to board the train for Hogwarts school.
The makeover is part of a wider redevelopment of King's Cross and its surroundings. Once known as a seedy red-light district, the area around the station is being turned into upscale apartments and offices, including Google's new London headquarters.
