It was the first Sunday without Liam Payne. And his many fans chose to gather, wherever they were, to pay him a last tribute.
In London, more than a thousand gathered in Hyde Park and on the esplanade around the statue of Peter Pan, the boy who didn’t want to grow up, an allusion to the age of the singer, who died at just 31 years old in moment when he was relaunching his solo career.
Songs and minute of silence
“One Direction is an important part of all these people’s childhoods […] We all grew up watching them on X Factor, and after,” said Reema Shah, 27. “We are losing a part of our childhood,” she added, a bouquet of yellow flowers in her hand.
Next to her Alicia, a 22-year-old student, held a large sheet of paper on which the portrait of Liam Payne was printed. “It felt really important to come together with other people who understand how we feel. »
As the gathering grew, the crowd began singing along to songs by One Direction and Liam Payne, broadcast over a sound system. Everyone finally observed a minute of silence around 3 p.m., waving their phones in the air with the lights on.
From Mexico to Paris
Other rallies took place in many other countries, such as in Mexico City, in Quito, the capital of Ecuador, or in several cities in Colombia. In Paris, dozens of people paid tribute to him in the Tuileries gardens
Liam Payne died on Wednesday after falling from the balcony of his hotel room in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in a context of “alcohol and drug consumption”, according to the first results of the investigation.
