Fans of Liam Payne are mourning the sudden removal of a heartfelt memorial dedicated to the late singer in Manchester’s city centre. The tribute, originally set up during a candlelit vigil following his tragic death, had become a place of comfort for many fans. However, when Summer Camilleri and a group of fellow admirers arrived to honor Payne on November 16, they were shocked to find the memorial gone. The tribute, which had been adorned with flowers, candles, and messages, had been a place where fans could gather to grieve and remember the One Direction star.
Summer, 20, and several others had been visiting the site regularly since the vigil to help maintain the tribute. For her, it was more than just a collection of flowers; it was a symbol of shared grief and a community of people coming together to mourn the loss of a beloved figure. On the day they planned to mark a month since his passing and celebrate the re-release of the This Is Us One Direction documentary, they arrived to find only an empty slab where the tribute once stood.
The sudden removal left fans feeling devastated and confused. “We couldn’t believe it at first,” Summer recalled. “We tried to make the best of it by putting up our own pictures to honor him.” Despite the sorrow, she emphasized that the memorial had played a crucial role in bringing people together. “It wasn’t just about Liam Payne; it was about grieving together, supporting each other through the loss.”
Summer, who has been a fan of One Direction since she was eight, shared that she had met Liam in 2019. She described him as a kind and genuine person, which made his passing even more difficult to bear. “When I met him, he was so lovely and made me feel at ease,” she said. “The news hit me hard. I couldn’t eat for days; it just knocked me sick.”
She is now calling for the Manchester City Council to collaborate with One Direction fans to create a more permanent tribute to Liam in the city. The memorial at Cathedral Gardens had become a meaningful gathering spot, and Summer hopes that future tributes can continue to honor his legacy.
The tragic passing of Liam Payne on October 16, after a fall in Buenos Aires, sparked an outpouring of tributes from around the world. His kindness and warm personality were remembered by many, including singer Rita Ora, who paid a heartfelt tribute during the MTV EMA awards in Manchester. Ora described Liam as “one of the kindest people” she knew, someone who “brought so much joy to every room he walked into.”
The disappearance of the memorial has left fans like Summer searching for answers and hoping for a way to properly remember the artist who touched their lives in so many ways.
