Niall Horan has thanked fans for their continued support as they celebrate eight years of One Direction.

Horan said: “#8YearsfOneDirection Wow! 8 years of amazing memories with the lads . Thank you so much for standing by us for all this time. [sic]”

Global superstars Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson, Niall Horan, Liam Payne and former member Zayn Malik were put together to form One Direction by music mogul Simon Cowell on the UK version of The X Factor in 2010. They went on to become the biggest boyband in the world.

One Direction's five albums, Up All Night (2011), Take Me Home (2012), Midnight Memories (2013), Four (2014), and Made in the A.M. (2015), topped charts in most major markets, and generated hit singles including "What Makes You Beautiful", "Live While We're Young", "Best Song Ever", "Story of My Life" and "Drag Me Down".

After announcing their hiatus in 2015, all members launched solo careers, with Horan's debut solo album "Flicker" being certified Gold in the UK, Australia, Brazil, Ireland, Sweden and Platinum in Canada. It reached No. 1 in the U.S, Ireland, South Korea, Holland and Canada.

The Irish heartthrob's debut single "Slow Hands" reached No. 1 in the US Adult Top 40, US Dance Club Songs and US Mainstream Top 40.

Horan has worked hard for this achievement having been on his Flicker global tour since March, with it wrapping up on September 23. 

He has also been promoting the album and its singles resulting in at least four trips to Australia in the past year.

Today in celebration of the group, #8YearsOfOneDirection has been trending on Twitter amongst Directioners worldwide.