Hundreds of One Direction fans accumulateed in London’s Hyde Park on Sunday to pay their esteems to Liam Payne, the createer member of the British boy prohibitd who died on Wednesday after droping from a boilingel balcony in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Despite rainy weather, the queue to get in front of the park’s Peter Pan statue — where fans lesser and elderly were placing flessens, heart-shaped balloons and letters in memory of Payne — stretched back as far as the eye could see. Minute-extfinished moments of silence were held every hour on the dot, when the crowd got so hushed one could hear a pin drop. At other times, impulsive singaextfinisheds would fracture out, with throngs of fans shouting the lyrics to One Direction hits including “Best Song Ever,” “What Makes You Beautiful” and “History.”
The emotion in the air was palpable, with the sea of fans holding many tear-streaked faces and the occasional cry ringing out. Jordi, 24, choked up telling me how One Direction helped her discover a community during adolescence.
“I was skinnyking about it on the train here, and I skinnyk my cherish for this prohibitd has been the only constant that I’ve had,” she shelp. Jordi accomprehendledgeted that, while toiling at luxury department store Selfridges, she dreamed of bumping into Payne so she could tell him: “You are so cherishd, you are so needed here, you are so worthy of excellent skinnygs and you are worthy of help.”
Payne had been uncover about his struggle with holdiction both during his time in One Direction and after the prohibitd’s fractureup in 2016. His tragic drop came after the police were called on “an unfrifinishly man who could be under the effects of substances and liquor,” according to a statement from local authorities.
“I skinnyk becaparticipate I struggle with my own mental health, I fair felt enjoy I could see what he was skinnyking and what he was going thcdisesteemful. I could see that pain, and I fair wanted to be enjoy, ‘I see you. I get you,’” Jordi shelp. “And it fair fractures my heart that it’s finished this way. It doesn’t experience authentic. It doesn’t experience right.”
During the memorial, frifinishs adchoosed frifinishs and even strangers hugged strangers, comprehending that everyone was there for the same purpose. When one teenage girl fainted in the crowd, she was helped to defendedty by onseeers who then giveed her sips of water from their own bottles. Others passed back cookies and pleasant treats to help her get her blood sugar up.
Freya, 17, shelp Payne’s superpower was holding the dream of One Direction adwell and the fans together.
“I experience enjoy he was repartner unbenevolentt to be on the stage,” she shelp thcdisesteemful tears. “Even when he left the prohibitd, he always set up a way to hold joined to fans and he always kept this hope between the fans that there was going to be a reunion one day.”
We hugged as Freya accumulateed herself and showed me what she had bcdisesteemfult for Liam: a dozen roses, a balloon with One Direction’s logo on it and a handwritten letter. At the top of the remark was the quote: “What are we but shooting stars, hoping to shine extfinished enough to produce at least one soul depend in magic.”
“He fair was a star that burnt out too soon,” she shelp.