Liam Payne's celebrity friends as funeral 'to be packed' in tribute to star

Liam Payne will reportedly be laid to rest within the coming days. It is understood the body of the One Direction singer is in the process of being repatriated to the UK.

While it has not been confirmed where the funeral will be held, reports suggest it could take place in his home city of Wolverhampton. The 31-year-old grew up in the Bushbury area of the city and his family still live nearby in Codsall, South Staffordshire.

The late singer's dad Geoff flew out to Buenos Aires, Argentina, within days of hearing the tragic news that his son had died. Payne's body is expected to be released to Geoff so he can bring his son home this week.

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Details of his funeral have not been made public, with his service likely to be a private event. But a string of celebrities are rumoured to be making plans to attend the funeral.

It is not clear whether Payne's One Direction bandmates - Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Zayn Malik and Louis Tomlinson - will reunite to bid farewell to him. Payne's former Girls Aloud girlfriend Cheryl Cole, who he shared son Bear with, could also join.

Other celebrity friends include Nicole Scherzinger - who is credited with helping to put One Direction together on ITV's The X Factor in 2010. The Pussycat Dolls star had kept in touch with Payne and text him on the day he died.

Music mogul Simon Cowell was also one of many stars who paid tribute to Payne following his death, describing how he was 'truly devastated'. A source told RadarOnline.com: "Liam's funeral is going to be packed with A-listers as he was so well-loved in the showbiz community, and so many of them are so sad about his tragic death.

"His family want to keep his farewell low-key and respectful, as it's what Liam would have wanted as he was so down to earth. But there are going to be a series of song tributes from some very big acts as he loved singing and making music until the end."

Payne died when he fell from the balcony of his third floor room at the CasaSur Palermo hotel on October 16. He had been in the capital with girlfriend Kate Cassidy in the weeks before he died.

She left to fly home to the US, with Payne remaining in Argentina.