BELIEVE it or not, it has been 20 years since the first Harry Potter book was published.

Harry Potter And The Philosopher's Stone was first published, 20 years ago yesterday, on June 26 1997 and the seven Harry Potter books have since sold more than 450 million copies worldwide in 79 languages.

Author JK Rowling had the idea for the stories about a young wizard and his friends and teachers at a school for magic while on a train journey, and she wrote the first book in a small cafe in Edinburgh.

The book led to the big screen with the first film, which propelled stars Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint to global fame, released in 2001 and the franchise wrapped up in 2011.

There is now even the chance to step into Harry's world, if you visit Warner Bros Studio Tour in London.

Or perhaps you could play in the Quidditch World Cup, where people play a game similar to that invented by Rowling in the book - just without the flying and broomsticks of course.

In honour of the 20-year anniversary, an exhibition celebrating the magic of Harry Potter will open at the British Library on October 20, while Rowling's publisher Bloomsbury will release four new editions of the book, one for each house at Hogwarts School Of Witchcraft & Wizardry.

In Worcester, Harry Potter mania has seen thousands of school children use the book for inspiration for their World Book Day costumes, as seen here in our pictures.

The Hive has hosted a Harry Potter Night for young wizards and witches, while Waterstones in the city centre has also had midnight openings to celebrate the release of some of the books over the years.

And, if you were shocked to discover Harry is now 20 years old, here's a few more things that happened in 1997:

*Diana, Prince of Wales, died after a car accident in the Pont de l'Alma road tunnel in Paris in August

*Popular children's television show Teletubbies debuts on BBC 2 to mixed reaction

*The Labour Party return to power for the first time in 18 years with Tony Blair becoming Prime Minister in a landslide majority

*Katrina and the Waves win the Eurovision Song Contest 1997 for the UK with "Love Shine a Light", the most successful Eurovision entry ever

*Be Here Now, the third album from English rock band Oasis, becomes the fastest selling album in UK history

*Mother Theresa, a nun who devoted her life to serving the poor, died in September