Liam Payne's funeral to be held this week as X Factor star's body flown back to UK

The funeral of late singer Liam Payne, who died last month, is set to take place this week. The One Direction star died at the age of 31 on October 16 after falling from a hotel balcony in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

His private funeral, which follows numerous fan vigils worldwide, will celebrate the life of the father-of-one. The X Factor star's body is expected to be flown back to the UK on Monday (November 4) "at the latest".

Last week, it was reported that Liam's body had been moved from a Buenos Aires morgue to the historic British Cemetery in the northern part of the Argentinian capital, following permission granted by prosecutors to his grieving father Geoff. Respected Argentinian daily La Nacion reported that Geoff was personally informed in a recent meeting with prosecution chief Andres Madrea that he could return to the UK with Liam's body two weeks after arriving in South America following his son's tragic three-storey hotel fall.

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It stated: "All the documents are ready for the former One Direction singer to return to his homeland so a funeral can take place there next week. When Geoff Payne reached Argentina on October 18 he was told the repatriation process could take between four and five days, but because of the circumstances surrounding his son's death things took longer than expected."

Following the tragic death of Liam, a petition has been launched on Change.org by a fan, calling for new legislation to protect the mental health of artists in the entertainment industry. The proposed legislation, referred to as Liam's Law, would require "regular mental health check-ups, adequate rest periods and the presence of mental health professionals on-set, including any ongoing support during their career", reports the Mirror.

Liam had openly discussed his struggles with alcoholism at the height of his fame, revealing to The Diary Of A CEO podcast host Steven Bartlett that he hit "rock bottom", before announcing in 2023 that he was sober after entering rehab. Liam first appeared on The X Factor in 2008 at the age of 14, performing Frank Sinatra's Fly Me To The Moon, and returned two years later at 16 to join One Direction with Niall Horan, Louis Tomlinson, Zayn Malik, and Harry Styles, who became one of the world's most successful boybands.

A post-mortem examination has revealed that Liam suffered multiple traumas leading to "internal and external haemorrhage". The case, previously described as an "inconclusive death" by Argentina's National Criminal and Correctional Prosecutor's Office No 16, is under investigation.

Liam leaves behind his seven-year-old son Bear, his only child with former Girls Aloud singer Cheryl Tweedy. The two were a couple from 2016 until 2018.