The father of former One Direction star Liam Payne has travelled to Buenos Aires following the singer’s death, mourning the loss of his only son at a memorial surrounded by fans.
Geoff Payne was pictured in a navy suit exiting the Casa Sur Hotel in the Argentina capital, where the 31-year-old British star fell from a third-floor balcony on Wednesday.
The Associated Press reports that Mr Payne has flown to the country to organise his son’s repatriation (returning his body to his home country).
In a video shared on the BBC, Mr Payne was seen visiting tributes laid out by fans outside the hotel, reading letters and pausing around flowers, photographs, and candles.
He is accompanied by two former security guards of the What Makes You Beautiful Band, including Paul Higgins, who worked with the stars throughout their heydays.
Tear-jerking footage shared online shows Mr Payne gazing around the crowd of 1D fans and looking them in the eyes, telling them ‘thank you’ for being there.
At one point, Mr Payne also grabbed an ‘I love One Direction’ wristband and placed it over a photo of his son, as fans laid bouquets and memorabilia on the ground.
As well as the Strip That Down hitmaker, Mr Payne has daughters Ruth and Nicola with the popstar’s mum, Karen.
His arrival in Argentina comes after the Wolverhampton-born musician’s family issued a statement to say they were ‘heartbroken’ following his death.
They added: ‘Liam will forever live in our hearts and we’ll remember him for his kind, funny and brave soul.’
Girls Aloud singer Cheryl has since voiced concerns over protecting the seven-year-old son she shares with Payne, following their high-profile relationship between 2016 and 2018.
‘As I try to navigate this earth shattering event, and work through my own grief at this indescribably painful time, I’d like to kindly remind everyone that we have lost a human being,’ she wrote in a post on Instagram.
Sharing a previously unseen black-and-white picture of Payne in bed with his young son Bear, she continued: ‘Liam was not only a pop star and celebrity, he was a son, a brother, an uncle, a dear friend and a father to our 7 year old son.
‘A son that now has to face the reality of never seeing his father again.’
The 41-year-old concluded the statement by urging people to give Payne ‘the little dignity he has left in the wake of his death to rest in some peace at last’.
Her statement came after Payne’s girlfriend Kate Cassidy said she was at a ‘complete loss’ following the tragedy.
‘Nothing about the past few days have felt real,’ she said in a post on her Instagram Story, having left South America just days ago to return home to Florida.
‘Liam, my angel, you are everything. I want you to know I loved you unconditionally and completely. I will continue to love you for the rest of my life. I love you Liam,’ she penned, with Cassidy having dated Payne for around two years.
Meanwhile, music mogul Simon Cowell said he was ‘truly devastated’ after the death of the singer, adding that he also felt ‘heartbroken’ and ’empty’.
Payne found fame alongside Niall Horan, Louis Tomlinson, Zayn Malik, and Harry Styles when The X Factor creator Cowell put them together to form One Direction on the ITV talent show in 2010.
‘Every tear I have shed is a memory of you,’ mentor Cowell wrote in a statement on Instagram.
The 65-year-old titan of the music industry said his son Bear ’will be so proud of everything you achieved and how you achieved it’.
Payne first auditioned for The X Factor in 2008 when he was 14, singing Frank Sinatra’s Fly Me To The Moon, with judge Cowell telling him to return to the talent show two years later.
In 2010 he impressed the judges with a rendition of Michael Buble’s Cry Me A River before being put with four other solo hopefuls at the boot camp stage of the competition – the group which later became One Direction.
‘I had to tell you when you were 14 that this wasn’t your time. And we both made a promise that we would meet again. A lot of people would have given up. You didn’t,’ Cowell said.
He also said that Payne had visited him last year where they ‘reminisced about all of the fun times we had together’.
‘After you left, I was reminded that you were still the sweet, kind boy I had met all of those years ago.’
Horan was the last bandmate to share a touching tribute, saying he will ‘cherish every moment’ he had with Payne ‘forever’.
Payne was spotted dancing at Horan’s show around two weeks ago at the Movistar Arena alongside his girlfriend Cassidy, 25, in Argentina.
‘I feel so fortunate that I got to see him recently. I sadly didn’t know that after saying goodbye and hugging him that evening, I would be saying goodbye forever. It’s heartbreaking,’ Horan wrote.
Payne’s other bandmembers also paid separate emotional tributes on social media, while a joint statement from the band said they were ‘completely devastated’ and will miss the singer ‘terribly’, adding the ‘memories we shared with him will be treasured forever’.
The singer died of multiple traumas and ‘internal and external haemorrhage’, a post-mortem examination report said.
Argentina’s National Criminal and Correctional Prosecutor’s Office No. 16 said it was investigating the incident as an ‘inconclusive death’ following the report.