Former One Direction star Liam Payne is set to receive a poignant tribute at this year’s Brit Awards, with a video montage celebrating his incredible life and career
The details behind the BRIT Awards tribute to late singer Liam Payne has been revealed ahead of what is set to be an emotional night.
One Direction singer Liam Payne died at the age of 31 on October 16, 2024, after falling from a third-floor balcony in Buenos Aires. Liam’s cause of death was confirmed as ‘polytrauma,’ indicating multiple severe injuries to his body. Five months after his tragic death, Liam will be honoured at the BRITS on Saturday, March 1.
After weeks of deliberation, the organisers have decided to pay tribute to Liam’s life and career with a heartfelt video montage, which will be shown on the large screens inside London’s O2 Arena. While the final touches are still being finalised, BRIT Awards host Jack Whitehall, the host of the ceremony, will be leading the emotional tribute.
A backstage insider shared: “The Brits have put together a video package that highlights Liam’s remarkable life. Since Jack was a close friend of Liam’s, they believe it would be a fitting gesture for him to introduce the montage, which will showcase both Liam’s personal journey and professional achievements.”
“It will include clips of him performing on The X Factor with One Direction, as well as some of his biggest and best moments with the band and as a solo artist. It is an incredibly emotional watch but the Brits think what they have created will truly do Liam justice. Doing something to honour Liam has been at the forefront of the organisers’ minds. There was talk of his bandmates Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Louis Tomlinson and Zayn Malik recording something but it was decided that it should purely be about Liam,: the source told The Sun.
While One Direction fans were hoping that his former bandmates would be apart of the tribute on-stage, it has since been confirmed that the boys will not be sharing any words in honour of Liam. Event organisers had approached the group, who won seven BRIT Awards during their career, about performing live at the ceremony.
The boys reportedly felt a reunion could overshadow the tribute to Liam, making it unlikely that any of them will attend the event. Although Liam’s passing brought the former bandmates back into contact for the first time since Zayn’s departure in 2015, there are no current plans for any future One Direction projects.
A source explained: “This has been an incredibly emotional time for the group, and they decided that a performance would be too overwhelming. They have mourned privately and don’t feel the need for a public tribute just for the sake of it. While fans may be disappointed, the timing simply isn’t right.”
Despite the fact that the former One Direction stars will not be apart of the tribute, BRITs host Jack, 36, has reassured that Liam will still be honoured in style. Shedding light on what BRIT viewers can expect, Jack told The Sun: “It’s really lovely that we have this moment within the show to pay tribute and remember him. I have lots of really great memories of Liam.
“He was always game for fun. I filmed some sketches with him – not everyone is up for that, but he always made time.” The BRITS won’t be the first award show tribute to Liam. Earlier this month fans were left in tears when the Grammy’s showed a heartbreaking video montage of the star.
Ezra Collective, Jorja Smith, JADE, Lola Young, Myles Smith, Sabrina Carpenter, Sam Fender, Teddy Swims and The Last Dinner Party all perform at tonight’s awards at London’s O2 Arena. Charli xcx is up for five awards. Already announced winners include Myles Smith is the winner of this year’s BRITs Rising Star award; Sabrina Carpenter will be receiving the BRITs Global Success award; Charli xcx will be this year’s Songwriter of the Year.
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