'He had the biggest heart': Rita Ora breaks down in tears as she pays tribute to Liam Payne

11 November 2024, 05:42 | Updated: 11 November 2024, 05:44

MTV EMAs 2024 - Show
MTV EMAs 2024 - Show. Picture: Alamy

By Henry Moore

Stars from across the globe paid tribute to Liam Payne at the MTV Music Awards last night.

Listen to this article

Loading audio...

Host Rita Ora held back tears as she hailed the late One Direction star, saying he had the "biggest heart".

Performers from across the globe gathered in Manchester in Sunday as the music industry paid tribute to Payne, who died aged 31 last month.

The 31-year-old fell to his death from a third-floor hotel balcony in Buenos Aires on October 16.

Speaking on stage, Ora said: "I just want to take a moment to remember someone very, very dear to us.

Read more: Tragic star Liam Payne's Rolex missing as Argentinian police continue to probe singer's death

"We lost him recently and he was a big part of the MTV world and my world."

Liam Payne "had the biggest heart and was always the first person to offer help in any way that he could", she continued.

Rita Ora and Liam Payne
Rita Ora and Liam Payne. Picture: Getty

"He brought so much joy to every room he walked into and he left such a mark on the world."

It comes after three people have been charged in connection with the star’s death.

The three people who have been charged are someone who was close to Payne, a hotel employee and a suspected drug dealer.

Argentinian prosecutors say they've been charged with "abandonment of a person followed by death" and the "supply and facilitation of narcotics".

Emergency services had been called on the day Payne fell at the Casa Sur Hotel to a "guest who was under the influence of drugs and alcohol and who had destroyed some objects in the room".

Liam Payne
Liam Payne. Picture: Alamy

A statement from prosecutors read: "Based on the evidence gathered and after analysing the various bodies of proceedings and numerous documentary annexes and the background of the case, prosecutor Andres Esteban Madrea formally charged three people, requesting their questioning and arrest in a 180-page ruling presented last Friday to Judge Bruniard.

The statement added: "Liam Payne was not fully conscious or was experiencing a state of noticeable decrease or loss of consciousness at the time of the fall".

The Public Prosecutor's Office in Argentina had been investigating the circumstances around Payne's death.

It is being treated as "an inconclusive death", and an initial post-mortem examination found he died instantly because of multiple traumas and "internal and external haemorrhage".

More Latest News

See more More Latest News

Israel launched a wave of strikes on Gaza last night - the largest attack since the January ceasefire

'Greatest fear realised': Families of Israeli hostages slam Netanyahu as Gaza strikes put captives 'at grave risk'

A group picture of all the researchers – from various science projects -- at the South African research station, SANAE IV, Antar

Revealed: Why Antarctic scientist 'snapped' on remote base as team begs for rescue after 'assaults and death threats'

Rescue teams at work after the plane crashed into the sea, on Roatan island, Honduras

Plane crash kills seven including popular music star after jet goes down off Honduras coast

The NHS watchdog has called for overweight patients to be weighed each year.

Overweight patients should be weighed every year so doctors can monitor them, says NHS watchdog

Pat McFadden

Pat McFadden defends changes to welfare system as he insists Cabinet 'united' behind plans - despite backlash

Driving test rules have changed

Warning over new rules for driving tests, as ministers push to slash waiting times

Gene Hackman and Betsy Arakawa Portrait

Fresh twist in death of Gene Hackman’s wife Betsy as it emerges she called doctors a day after police say she died

Exclusive
Civil servants are having their credit cards frozen

'We need to treat taxpayer money with respect': Ministers freeze civil service credit cards after spending quadruples

Exclusive
Part of the River Trent had 50 times the bacteria of safe swimming water

'There's something wrong with the water': Bacteria in UK river 50 times higher than safe swimming levels

The crash occurred on Friday night, near Shifnal, and involved a silver Audi A1

Third teenager dies after horror crash in West Midlands as one left fighting for life

King Charles III And Queen Camilla

King and Queen set to meet Pope next month despite pontiff's ill health

This image taken from NASA video shows the SpaceX capsule carrying NASA astronauts Suni Williams, Butch Wilmore and Nick Hague.

NASA astronauts 'stranded' in space for months begin journey back to Earth in SpaceX Dragon capsule

Israel has launched the largest strikes on Gaza since the ceasefire agreement with Hamas, killing and injuring dozens while promising 'increasing military force'.

Israel-Hamas ceasefire collapses as IDF launches 'extensive' strikes on Gaza killing 'at least 330'

Israel has launched the largest strikes on Gaza since the ceasefire agreement with Hamas, killing and injuring dozens while promising 'increasing military force'.

Israel launches 'extensive' deadly strikes on Gaza, which Hamas says indicate 'unilateral end to ceasefire'

Badenoch is expected to drop the party’s commitment to net zero, which the UK is legally required to reach by 2050, in a speech on Tuesday.

UK net zero target by 2050 is ‘impossible’ without bankrupting Britain, says Kemi Badenoch

John ‘Paddy’ Hemingway, the last surviving pilot that served in the Battle of Britain, has passed away at the age of 105.

Last surviving Battle of Britain pilot John ‘Paddy’ Hemingway dies aged 105