'Revenge of the Sith' premieres in London

Storm Troopers, lightsabers, an X-Wing and a huge orchestra - it can only be 'Star Wars Day' in Leicester Square.

May 16 2005

Leicester Square is celebrating 'Star Wars' in style today.

On the day that 'Episode III – Revenge of the Sith' premieres at the Odeon, no expense has been spared to bring George Lucas's universe to London for the day, with Storm Troopers patrolling the Square's perimeter and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra banging out Jon Williams' famous score on a huge stage.

Elsewhere thousands of fans, many dressed as their favourite characters, are having photos taken in front of the huge X-Wing on show, pestering Anthony 'C-3PO' Daniels for autographs or simply taking in the impressive scale of it all.

John Baldock, 28, who has come dressed as Obi-Wan Kenobi, says that the occasion is a great excuse to be a geek all day.

'It goes back to when you were a kid, when the first films came out. It's that kind of excitement today.'

Having already seen the new film, John says that it's fantastic, although he predicts that the dark tone and violence of 'Revenge of the Sith' will give a few of today's children nightmares.

Nearby we caught up with Giles Edwards, 29, who was lucky enough to be attending the all-day marathon taking place at the Empire Leicester Square (see original story here).

Speaking at the half-way mark, Giles was suitably tired having got up at 5am for the event, but nevertheless enjoying the experience.

'Everyone's very enthusiastic' he said of the screening. 'So many people have come dressed up – there's every mask under the sun in there, and even some that I don't think were actually in 'Star Wars'.'

He added: 'There are also lots of lightsabers, quite a few mullets, and a lot more girls than I was expecting.'

And speaking of girls, we also caught up with Kayleigh Pennock, 9, who had come dressed as her favourite character, Darth Vader.

Asked why she enjoyed the films, Kayleigh said it was because she likes the fighting, 'especially when Darth Vader is in action', and also that she couldn't wait to see the new film.

She won't have long to wait either, with the star-studded premiere taking place at the Odeon tonight (May 16), before going nationwide on Thursday.

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