October 20, 2024
Geoff Payne paid his son Liam Payne a tribute at the hotel he died.
Geoff, 66, reached CasaSur Palermo Hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on Friday morning to recover his son’s belongings and arrange his repatriation to the United Kingdom, per the BBC and Argentine news channel TN.
Upon his visit, the grieving father also met with his son’s fans who were also present there to pay their respects.
Geoff also stopped by to look at the memorial tributes they pieced together outside of the hotel, including shrines erected in his son’s honour and messages left by the singer’s fans. He also kissed a photo of Liam.
Geoff thanked the fans gathered there before heading towards the hotel building, TN reported.
Some of Liam’s fans went as far as attempting to keep the press from following him into the building and shielded him from the media by lifting their hands while Geoff was inside.
One of the fans who helped form the barrier told the BBC that fans at the hotel wanted to give Geoff “a moment” to express his feelings and to “see how much we love Liam.”
Earlier that day, the musician’s father also visited the Buenos Aires morgue where his son’s body was kept.
An investigation is underway to dig out the circumstances that led to the musician’s sudden death, who died from a 40 feet fall from the hotel balcony Wednesday.