Liam Payne’s dad refuses to leave his body’s side as he’s ‘determined to accompany him home’ to Britain
LIAM Payne’s dad has refused to leave his son’s side and is “determined to accompany him home” to Britain.
Former One Direction star Liam died after falling 45ft from his hotel room balcony in Buenos Aires at 5.04pm on Wednesday.
Liam’s father Geoff Payne is currently in the Argentinian capital organising plans to repatriate his son’s body.
It comes as…
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Geoff, who lives with Liam’s mum Karen in Wolverhampton, visited Casa Sur Hotel, the hotel where Liam had been staying on Friday.
He thanked fans who had gathered outside the hotel for their kind words and viewed tributes that had been left to the star.
The family are now working to bring Liam’s body home once a post-mortem is complete.
There are no direct flights between Buenos Aires and London, but the family are said to want as few stops as possible.
A source told the Mirror: “Liam’s loved ones just want him home, back where he belongs among his family.
“They have been tackling the logistics about how best to get his body back to the UK.
“Geoff is determined to accompany his son home.”
It comes as MTV bosses are set to pay tribute to One Direction singer Liam at next month’s Europe Music Awards.
The ceremony will take place at Manchester’s newly built Co-Op live Arena on Sunday November 10.
Liam was in the city just weeks ago filming new Netflix talent show Building The Band alongside Kelly Rowland, 43, and Nicole Scherzinger, 46.
The show, which was to be hosted by former Backstreet Boys singer AJ McLean, now hangs in the balance as US based bosses decide what to do.
It’s understood that Liam’s close friend and former collaborator Rita Ora, 33, will be involved in MTV‘s plans.
The tribute could range from a live musical homage or a simple video in memoriam montage.
The Sun can reveal producers are keen to honour the late star who dominated the music industry as part of the boy band from 2011 to 2016.
He later used the celeb-packed music ceremony to help launch his solo career.
Liam performed his debut single Strip That Down at the show in 2017.
The single, which was penned by Ed Sheeran, was Liam’s first of 6 UK Top 40s as a solo singer.
One Direction received twelve MTV EMA gongs out of their sixteen nominations.
They won three out of four in 2012, four out of six in 2013 and five out of six in 2014.
A source said: “Bosses have all agreed that they want to host a tribute to Liam during next month’s MTV EMAs.
“In the coming days they will start drawing up official plans.
“Officially Rita is yet to be announced, but she is hosting this year’s awards and will be involved in whatever MTV decides to do.
“She and Liam have been close for years and grew in the industry together. Obviously she is devastated by his passing.”
Rita and Liam teamed up on the 2018 single For You which featured in the film Fifty Shades Freed, part of the final movie in the Fifty Shades of Grey trilogy.
The track was nominated for Best Music Video at the 2019 Brit Awards.
Last week Let You Love Me singer Rita broke down on stage in Osaka as she performed the track during her Japanese tour.
During the song Rita displayed a black and white image of her and Liam in the studio together.
After looking at the sky and holding her head in her hands, Rita told fans: “I can’t even sing this right now”.
A source said: “Rita is heartbroken but was keen not to let fans down and continued with her shows.
“She is being supported by her husband Taika Waititi who is out in Japan with her.”
Liam previously said of his bond with Rita: “Rita is someone I call a true friend and it was an absolute pleasure working with her.”
The last time the EMAs were in the UK was 2017, they were hosted at Wembley Arena with both Liam and Rita in attendance.
Liam performed his debut single Strip That Down while Rita helped host the evening as well as performing a mash up of her hit tracks Your Song and Anywhere.
Liam tragically died in Buenos Aires, Argentina on Wednesday after falling from his third floor hotel balcony.
He was just 31-years-old.
Since then tributes have flooded in around the world from fans and celebs alike – with many praising Liam’s kindness and desire to help others.
Yesterday [sun] Liam’s devastated fans held outdoor memorial services for the singer up and down the country.
Events took place in London, Manchester, Birmingham and Glasgow.
Despite the rain hundreds of supporters gathered at the Peter Pan statue in London’s Hyde Park- singing his songs and bringing floral tributes to the singer.
One left open letters to the singer – praising him for soundtracking them through their younger years.
In one letter, fan Helen, 30, wrote: “I was one of the very lucky people in my teenage years to see you on numerous occasions.
“You were so kind, polite and friendly, every single time. You appreciated your fans so much. Back then I was over the moon to meet you as a fan but also as a person – Liam you were just so lovely.”
She added: “You died young but if love could’ve saved you, my goodness you really would have lived forever.”
Fans are also also buying and streaming One Direction songs to help Liam dominate the charts come Friday when they are announced.
On Sunday night the Official UK Charts confirmed that three One Direction songs are on track to reenter the charts.
Their 2014 single Night Changes is currently sits at No16 while Story of My Life and What Makes You Beautiful are at 21 and 47 retrospectively.
Three solo tracks Liam are also rising up the charts.
His final single Teardrops, released in March this year, is currently at No65 followed by For You with Rita Ora at 67 and Liam’s debut track Strip That Down with Quavo at 75.