One Direction fans have gathered in their thousands this weekend to remember their beloved Liam Payne following his death on Wednesday.
Directioners held one another as they sobbed and reflected on Payne’s life after he fell from a third-floor hotel balcony on Wednesday evening in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
The Strip That Down hitmaker was just 31 years old and is survived by his seven-year-old son, Bear Payne, whom he shares with ex-partner Cheryl.
In the wake of the tragedy, fans organised memorials in cities around the world, flocking to the streets in England, Scotland, France, Germany, Columbia, Spain, and more.
Incredibly emotional photos capture fans on their knees, distraught at the sight of floral bouquets, artwork, posters, balloons, and candles laid out in his honour.
Fans were kitted out in One Direction merchandise, donning t-shirts, hoodies, and bracelets.
Speaking at the Payne memorial in London, Lauren, 26, from Kent, told the PA news agency how much it meant for her to be there.
‘It’s more comforting being with other people, because these people get it, whereas back at home, you’re just, kind of, on your own, and it’s quite tough; you’re stuck in your own thoughts, and here you can talk about it.’
She added Payne’s death hit harder than the loss of The Wanted’s Tom Parker because she was ‘prepared for it’ following his brain tumour diagnosis.
Lauren said losing Payne ‘was completely out of the blue’.
Meanwhile, Lauren Anderson and Natasha Bradley, both 23, spoke from Hyde Park in front of the Peter Pan memorial in Kensington Gardens.
Natasha admitted it was ‘hard trying to get over’ what had happened.
She added: ‘I’ve literally been feeling so sad, ever since the news came on; I just didn’t believe that.’
On how she’s been coping, she said ‘Lauren’s been the one that [she’s] been speaking to the most about it’, and she wanted to be around people who were ‘feeling the same’ because parents ‘don’t really understand how much they meant to [her] growing up’.
Fans even took great measures to ensure they were able to pay tribute to Payne, as one fan from the US ended her visit to Ireland’s capital abruptly so she could share her grief with hundreds of others in London.
Tess Hayden, 24, who was on holiday with her brother in Dublin when she heard the news, said: ‘Well, my older brother and I had been planning a trip to Dublin for a while, and I knew I was gonna try and come to London at some point at the end of the trip, but when I woke up and heard the news, I was like, “Ok, I’ll just go a day earlier (and) try and figure (it) out”.’
The 1D fanatic added that it was ‘very surreal’ as Payne’s death at such a tender age was ‘devastating’.
‘It’s a reminder of what a huge part of my childhood and growing up, Liam and One Direction were.’
More than 100 fans in total gathered in Central London, having arranged the entire thing via social media and with various other events planned for the coming days in other countries.
It comes shortly after Payne’s father headed to the Argentina capital to arrange the repatriation of his son’s body.
Geoff Payne visited the Casa Sur Hotel on Friday in the Argentine capital, where the Wolverhampton died.
He joined fans in mourning, reading letters that had been left at the hotel entrance and personally thanking them for being there.
An initial autopsy report concluded that Payne died of multiple traumas and ‘internal and external haemorrhage’.
Argentina’s National Criminal and Correctional Prosecutor’s Office No. 16 said it was investigating the incident as an ‘inconclusive death’.
It said five witnesses were questioned in order to reconstruct what happened at the hotel.
Payne ended up staying in South America for longer than planned, having attended bandmate Niall Horan’s concert not long before he died.
His girlfriend, Kate Cassidy, 25, left Argentina to return home on Monday, with Payne having been due to join her after renewing his ‘extraordinary achievement’ documents to continue living in Florida with her.
It’s been reported that Payne’s visa was initially refused because his history of substance abuse required him to undergo psychiatric and medical tests.
After being given a clean bill of health, Payne was due to collect his renewed visa at the embassy just two days after he died.
In a joint statement issued in the aftermath of the terrible tragedy, One Direction said they were ‘completely devastated’.
Horan, along with Louis Tomlinson, Zayn Malik, and Harry Styles said they will miss the singer ‘terribly’, adding the ‘memories [they] shared with him will be treasured forever’.
The What Makes You Beautiful hitmakers also shared their own individual tributes, crushing the hearts of millions as they reflected on the time they spent with Payne and what they will miss about him.
Tomlinson, 32, vowed to take care of Payne’s son, hailing ‘Payno’ as ‘one of [his] best friends’ in his emotional message.
Malik, 31, who left 1D officially in March 2015, admitted he had been ‘talking out loud’ to Payne in recent days, wishing to have ‘so many more conversations’ with him.
Horan, 31, was the last member to see Payne alive, as he attended the Irish singer’s concert in South America shortly before his death.
In his message, Horan shared his devastation at not knowing that was the last time he would say goodbye to his friend.
Finally, Styles, 30, said he will ‘always miss’ Payne, describing him as ‘warm, supportive, and incredibly loving’.
Payne’s girlfriend has also said said she is ‘at a loss’ without her ‘angel’, while Girls Aloud star Cheryl, 41, criticised ‘abhorrent’ reporting around his death, determined to protect their little boy.