LONDON (AP) — Lots of gathered Sunday in London’s Kensington Gardens to mourn Liam Payne as followers around the globe grieved for the One Route singer who died this week.
Directioners, as supporters of the massively profitable boy band are identified, left tributes in London, Glasgow, Paris, Sydney and New York this weekend as they celebrated the lifetime of the 31-year-old who died Wednesday after falling from a lodge balcony in Buenos Aires.
In London, they clapped and sang after gathering close to a statue of Peter Pan, the fictional boy who by no means grew up created by J.M. Barrie.
The mourners, largely younger ladies, left coronary heart formed balloons, images and flowers on the base of the statute, which sits subsequent to a slim path subsequent to a waterway often called The Lengthy Water.
Conscious of the crowds within the restricted area, organizers requested followers to depart their tributes then transfer away to permit others to strategy the statue.
JUSTIN TALLIS through Getty Photos
Followers Lauren Anderson and Natasha Bradley, each 23, stated they wished 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 stated, explaining why she got here to the park.
The vigils adopted those who befell outdoors the Casa Sur Lodge within the stylish Palermo neighborhood of Argentina’s capital instantly after Payne fell from his third-floor lodge room.
The 4 surviving members of One Route issued a joint assertion saying they had been “completely devastated” by the demise of their bandmate.
JUSTIN TALLIS through Getty Photos
In Paris’ Tuileries Gardens, tons of of followers — lots of them crying and carrying flowers — gathered to recollect Payne.
They sang songs and consoled one another. Some lit candles. Others introduced pictures and paintings of Payne, in addition to notes, letters and bouquets.
About 400 folks attended the gathering, overlooking Paris’ historic Place de la Concorde.
Distraught 26-year-old Emilie Houdinet stated 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 stated. “They were just a boys band but they were very important to us.”
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One Route rose to worldwide reputation quickly after the band was fashioned in 2010 from 5 younger singers who auditioned for the X Issue, a British TV expertise present.
The band broke up in 2016 after producing 5 albums that bought greater than 70 million copies.
Related Press author John Leicester in Paris contributed.
