Many are young women, who have come to bring flowers and cards which they leave at the foot of the statue. A silver “L”-shaped balloon and others in the shape of hearts hang from it. “One Direction is an important part of all these people’s childhoods […] We all grew up watching them on X Factor, and after,” says Reema Shah, 27. “We are losing a part of our childhood,” she adds, a bouquet of yellow flowers in her hand.
Next to her Alicia, a 22-year-old student, holds a large sheet of paper on which the portrait of Liam Payne is printed. “It felt really important to come together with other people who understand how we feel,” she says.
As the gathering grows, the crowd sings along to songs by One Direction and Liam Payne, broadcast over a sound system. Some hug each other, crying. They observe a minute of silence around 3 p.m. (2 p.m. GMT), waving their phones in the air with the lights on. Despite the rain, some wrote messages on large sheets of paper placed on the ground: “Liam, you were so loved”, “We will miss you forever” or “We will love you forever, you saved so many We “.
“There for him”
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. In the past, he had expressed his difficulty managing his fame and his problems with alcohol. He died of “multiple trauma” and “internal and external hemorrhage” and was in a state of “total or partial unconsciousness,” according to the medical report.
In Buenos Aires, fans continue to parade in front of the CasaSur hotel, opposite the altar dedicated to Payne, and visited by his father on Friday. They leave a flower or a message, take a photo, some in tears. 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, and a tribute is planned for Sunday in Birmingham, England, near Wolverhampton where the singer was from.
Since Wednesday, the treatment of Liam Payne’s death by certain media has been strongly criticized by those close to him, such as his ex-partner and mother of his son, Cheryl Cole, who denounced “odious” articles. “It’s sickening the way he’s been described,” said Shaqualla Hill, 23, a “long-time” One Direction fan in London.
“He had so many problems with his mental health, and so I think he will be happy to know that so many people loved him, that they are there for him,” also thinks Luna Franco, 20. With tears in her eyes and a bouquet in her hands, this young Italian living in London speaks of the singer’s death as a “shock”.
