Hundreds gathered in Kensington Garden in London on Sunday, Oct. 20, to mourn Liam Payne , the One Direction member who died after falling from a hotel balcony in Buenos Aires, Argentina on Wednesday. It was one of many memorials that took place around the world — fans from Glasgow, Paris, Sydney, and New York left tributes for Payne over the weekend, as The Associated Press reports .
In London, the crowd assembled near a statue of Peter Pan, where handmade signs, balloons, and flowers were placed to honor Payne. His loss deeply resonated in Britain, where Payne first rose to fame on the reality television series The X-Factor . Fans watched as the Wolverhampton, England-bred Payne competed in 2008 at age 14 where he was cut early from the show, and then returned to audition again two years later.
The judges paired him with Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson, Zayn Malik, and Niall Horan, and together the quintet became One Direction. They won the hearts of fans in Britain, and soon after the beloved boy band had fans the world over. On Sunday, Lauren Anderson and Natasha Bradley, both 23, told AP they went to the London park because 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. Meanwhile in Paris, grieving fans gathered in Tuileries Gardens, where they sang songs, brought flowers and photos of Payne, alongside letters and notes. Trending Trump Makes Fr.
