Liam Payne fans sing and grieve at global vigils for former One Direction star

AFP A young woman wearing a black jacket holds a bouquet of flowers, one hand covering her mouth as she looks down, at a vigil with a crowd in the backgroundAFP

A fan mourns Liam Payne at a vigil in Hyde Park in London

Fans in the UK and around the world are holding vigils this weekend in memory of Liam Payne, the One Direction star who died on Wednesday.

Police estimated that between 800 and 1,000 people gathered in London’s Hyde Park on Sunday afternoon to remember the 31-year-old who died after falling from the third floor of a hotel balcony in Argentina.

The crowd sang One Direction songs, such as the chart-topping hit What Makes You Beautiful, with many fans in tears.

A memorial has already been held in Liverpool and Payne’s home city of Wolverhampton, with more gatherings planned on Sunday in Manchester and Birmingham.

Groups of fans have also come together in Paris, Sydney, Manila and elsewhere.

It is not yet known when his body will be repatriated to the UK.

PA Media A fan in Liverpool writing a message for Liam Payne, which reads PA Media

Fans at the memorials have been writing messages for Liam Payne

Fans showed up in London’s Hyde Park, braving the drizzly weather on Sunday afternoon, and brought with them letters, pictures and flowers.

Many were placing them at the Peter Pan statue where the memorial was being held.

Details of the various memorials worldwide have been circulating on social media, with fans encouraged to bring letters, flowers and messages.

A One Direction fan from the US told the PA news agency that she ended her visit to Dublin abruptly to go to Hyde Park to be with other Liam Payne fans.

She described the singer’s death as “very sad and devastating, and shocking”.

“It’s a reminder of what a huge part of my childhood and growing up, Liam and One Direction were,” she added.

PA Media A large crowd gather round a statue, releasing love heart-shaped balloonsPA Media

A crowd has gathered in Hyde Park on Sunday afternoon

In Paris, a crowd gathered and flowers and candles were laid at the Tuilerie Gardens beneath a framed photo of the singer on Sunday afternoon.

Pictures show some fans crying and hugging each other, with many sitting on the ground in front of where tributes had been placed.

One fan at the vigil, Alexandra Veloso Silva, 31, told the Reuters news agency it felt like she had “lost someone from my family”.

Another fan Roman, 23, said Payne’s death feels like “another subject that brings us relief has been taken from us”.

Reuters A crowd gathers in front of a framed photo of Liam Payne. Flowers and candles have been placed beneath. Some people are sitting on the floor in front of it and some fans are hugging each other.Reuters

A crowd has been gathering in Paris on Sunday afternoon

In Liverpool on Saturday, a group of Directioners, the name given to followers of the X Factor-formed boy band, gathered at the Keel Warf Bridge at Royal Albert Dock.

Some had cardboard signs with the band’s lyrics on them, including one saying “I’m missing half of me when we’re apart”, from the band’s single If I Could Fly.

Another memorial card said Forever Young, a nod to the Alphaville track of the same name that One Direction covered.

Photographs of Payne, flowers, teddy bears and balloons were left at the bridge, and the group sang One Direction songs.

PA Media A fan looks at messages and flowers left to honour Liam Payne at the Keel Warf Bridge at Royal Albert Dock in LiverpoolPA Media

People brought flowers and balloons to a memorial for Liam Payne in Liverpool on Saturday

Earlier this weekend, people came together in Wolverhampton, where the singer was born in 1993.

Around 100 people looked down with their heads, bowed as flowers were laid outside St Peter’s Church.

One fan also left a photo of Payne as a child, surrounded by candles.

Around the world, people have also been paying their respects.

Reuters Candles are placed in front of a picture of young former One Direction singer Liam Payne, as people place tributes and flowers outside St. Peter's collegiate church to remember him, in Wolverhampton, Britain, October 18, 2024.Reuters

In his home city of Wolverhampton, candles were placed in front of a picture of Liam Payne as a child

In Buenos Aires, people gathered outside the hotel where Payne was found dead.

And in Sydney, fans also congregated with one called Amber telling the Reuters news agency about the sense of loss she was feeling.

Organiser Alicia Sinclair, 22, from Hertfordshire, said One Direction was “a light in a lot of people’s lives, especially mine”.

Speaking to BBC 5 Live Breakfast, she added: “There are a lot of people upset and it’s a good time for us to come together and be with people who understand.”

“My favourite memories with my sister are almost entirely revolving around One Direction,” she said.

“So for me it feels like, I guess like the end of us growing up together. That’s what makes it so hard.”

Another, Christina, said the news of his death had “really hit home”.

“I think Liam just made a massive impact on his fans. I personally have been a fan for over 12 years,” she said.

Reuters People gather outside the hotel where Liam Payne, former One Direction band member, was found dead after he fell from a third-floor hotel room balcony, in Buenos Aires.Reuters

Vigils have also been held outside the Casa Sur hotel in Buenos Aires

Payne rose to global fame as part of the boyband One Direction – created on The X Factor TV show in 2010 – and sang together with bandmates Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson, Zayn Malik and Niall Horan.

Malik left the group in 2015 to embark on a solo singing career, and the band later split in 2016.

On Saturday, Malik announced he had postponed the US leg of his upcoming tour after the “heartbreaking loss” of his former bandmate.

PA Media A picture of all five bandmates in One DirectionPA Media

One Direction were one of the most successful boybands in the world

Payne’s family have also been paying tribute. His sister Ruth Gibbins described Payne as her “best friend” in an emotional Instagram post, adding that she didn’t feel “this world was good enough or kind enough” to him.

Meanwhile in Argentina, Payne’s father, Geoff Payne, on Friday viewed tributes for his son outside the Casa Sur hotel in Buenos Aires.

He also visited the morgue in the city to officially identify his son. A federal prosecutor previously told the BBC that his body had been “released”, meaning no further tests were being carried out and identification could take place.

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