Taylor Swift Postpones Saturday Concert In Brazil Following Fan’s Death Amid Dangerous Heatwave
Taylor Swift canceled her second show in Rio de Janeiro on Saturday due to excessive heat and following the death of a 23-year-old fan during her Eras Tour concert on Friday evening.
“I’m writing this from my dressing room in the stadium. The decision has been made to postpone tonight’s show due to the extreme temperatures in Rio,” the singer said in a handwritten note posted on her Instagram account. “The safety and well being of my fans, fellow performers, and crew has to and always will come first.”
The circumstances as to how and why Ana Clara Benevides Machado died after seeking medical attention at Nilton Santos Olympic Stadium during Friday’s show, have yet to be revealed, according to The Associated Press. Rio’s public prosecutor has opened a criminal investigation and confirmed that Benevides’s body was being examined.
Following her death, thousands of concertgoers complained they were not allowed to take water into the 44,000-seat stadium despite searing temperatures that reached more than 102.4 degrees Fahrenheit. Federal authorities announced on Saturday that free water would now be available at concerts, but it was too little, too late.
In a handwritten note shared on social media, Swift said she had a “shattered heart.”
“There’s very little information I have other than the fact that she was so incredibly beautiful and far too young,” Taylor posted on IG.
The show’s organizer, Time4Fun, said that paramedics took Benevides to a first-aid center and then to a hospital, where she died an hour later, in a statement from the Brazilian live entertainment company.
Apparent temperature — a combination of temperature and humidity — hit 138 F Friday morning in Rio, the highest index ever recorded there.
Rio de Janeiro Mayor Eduardo Paes said on X, formerly known as Twitter, that the “loss of a young woman’s life … is unacceptable.”
For now, Swift is set to perform in Rio on Sunday, with three more concerts scheduled for the following weekend in Sao Paulo that begin November 24. State prosecutors said in a statement that they will “monitor measures that seek to avoid new problems and guarantee the protection of the health of the public.”
“I’m not going to be able to speak about this from [the] stage because I feel overwhelmed by grief when I even try to talk about it,” the singer wrote. “I want to say now I feel this loss deeply, and my broken heart goes out to her family and friends.”
With wire services
