The Hunger Games hit London

On Wednesday afternoon I decided to check out the O2 Arena where The Hunger Games movie premiere was being held. I have never been to a premiere before so I didn’t know what to expect but I was excited for the experience. I got to the O2 at around noon and got in the long line that stretched around the corner of the building.  After waiting a couple hours people were let into sections into the premiere area. My section was directed into the barricaded area directly to the right of the red carpet, next to the photography area where the celebrities stand to get their pictures taken. Other people went into barricaded areas on the other side of the carpet, and some indoors. I wasn’t sure if we were in a good spot or not but I was very close to the barricades so I was just ready for the long anticipated wait for the stars to arrive. I passed the time by watching the red carpet get set up. I was fascinated with the whole process of the setup and where everyone was to be placed. I got to see the carpet getting rolled out, and what appeared to be interns putting up signs for the press area. Various employees and people involved with the event were busy going back and forth making sure everything was just right for the event and camera and photographers were busy setting up in their designated spots.  I loved the busy atmosphere and watching it all come together.  After a few hours passed by news reporters began to show up to interview fans and do their reports from the red carpet. One news reporter walked the carpet several times back and forth to do takes for her news report.  After a while the carpet got busier and busier and more people began to arrive.

Inside the O2

Waiting to get to the premiere area

Putting up the signs for the press

rolling out the red carpet!

Reporters on the carpet

Photographers preparing for the celeb arrivals

The premiere was expected to start at 5 pm but this did not happen according to plan. After some extremely cold hours of waiting, the celebrities finally started to show up around 6:15. It became very excited and hectic once the guest started arriving but there was a pretty clear view of the arrival area and the main area of the red carpet where the cast posed for photos. The first person to arrive was a man I did not recognize until being told that it was Toby Jones who has a role in the Hunger Games but also did the voice of Dobby in the Harry Potter films. Once he was done posing for photos he came over to our barricaded section first and started signing for everyone.  Next up was Chris Hemsworth who came out to support his brother Liam Hemsworth who plays Gale in the movie.  He wasn’t very talkative but I was pleasantly surprised to see him signing and taking pictures with everyone throughout the event, I love to see when celebrities take the time to treat their fans well.  The main cast members came next, one by one. Elizabeth Banks, Liam Hemsworth, Jennifer Lawrence, and Josh Hutcherson all posed for some group shots before making their way over to us. Elizabeth Banks only stopped to sign for a few people before walking off but Liam came by and took the time to sign and get pictures with everyone.  He was really easygoing and made sure he got to every fan.  Jennifer Lawrence who plays Katniss came by next, but her publicist was rushing her and was only allowed to sign and not do pictures, but she was really nice and talkative to all the fans. Josh Hutcherson came by last, by this point the crowd was getting pretty rowdy and basically everyone wanted a picture with him. He was really nice and talkative to everyone and took the time to get to all the fans. When I asked him for a picture he was really friendly about it and handed my camera to the security guy so he could take the photo. I was really appreciative that he took the time to take a picture with me; I can only imagine how long it took him to get off that carpet due to all the fans wanting pictures/autographs. He could not be more humble and down to earth and I’m excited to see his performance as Peeta.

Toby Jones

Elizabeth Banks

Chris Hemsworth

The cast posing for pictures

Liam Hemsworth

Jennifer Lawrence

Josh and I !

My autographs

Once the main cast members began to walk away the crowd started to dwindle down. It had been a long day so I was ready to go home. The security would only let us leave at certain times so people in my barricade had to wait a couple minutes before they could leave the area.

 I was so excited to get to meet the cast and experience The Hunger Games Premiere, going in I was not expecting to get to meet all the main cast members and it was well worth the long wait. I’m so happy I got the chance to go and participate in all the excitement surrounding the movie. I will definitely be seeing it next weekend! I am off to Ireland this weekend so I will be updating when I get back!