Fans gather to pay tribute to late British singer Liam Payne, former member of the British pop band One Direction, in Paris, France, Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)
LONDON — Hundreds gathered Sunday in London’s Kensington Gardens to mourn Liam Payne as fans around the world grieved for the One Direction singer who died this past week.
Directioners, as supporters of the massively successful boy band are known, left tributes in London, Glasgow, Paris, Sydney and New York this weekend as they celebrated the life of the 31-year-old who died Wednesday after falling from a hotel balcony in Buenos Aires.
In London, they clapped and sang after gathering near a statue of Peter Pan, the fictional boy who never grew up created by J.M. Barrie. The mourners, mostly young women, left heart-shaped balloons, photographs and flowers at the base of the statute, which sits next to a narrow path next to a waterway known as The Long Water.
Mindful of the crowds in the limited space, organizers asked fans to leave their tributes then move away to allow others to approach the statue.
Fans Lauren Anderson and Natasha Bradley, both 23, said they wanted to be with others who shared their grief.
“Your parents, they don’t really understand how much (One Direction) really meant to you growing up,” Bradley said, explaining why she came to the park.
The vigils followed those that took place outside the Casa Sur Hotel in the chic Palermo neighborhood of Argentina’s capital immediately after Payne fell from his third-floor hotel room. The four surviving members of One Direction issued a joint statement saying they were “completely devastated” by the death of their bandmate.
In Paris’ Tuileries Gardens, hundreds of fans — many of them crying and carrying flowers — gathered to remember Payne.
They sang songs and consoled each other. Some lit candles. Others brought photos and artwork of Payne, as well as notes, letters and bouquets. About 400 people attended the gathering, overlooking Paris’ historic Place de la Concorde.
Distraught 26-year-old Emilie Houdinet said she’d been a fan of the band since 2011.
“They helped me. They were there throughout my adolescence to age 18. They were a bit like dads to us,” she said. “They were just a boys band but they were very important to us.”
One Direction rose to worldwide popularity soon after the band was formed in 2010 from five young singers who auditioned for the “X Factor,” a British TV talent show. The band broke up in 2016 after producing five albums that sold more than 70 million copies.