RIO DE JANEIRO — Taylor Swift postponed an Eras tour concert in Rio de Janeiro on Saturday after a 23-year-old fan died during her Friday night show, according to a post on the singer’s Instagram .
“I am 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, my fellow artists and my team must and will always come first,” she added.
The cause of death of Ana Clara Benevides Machado, the young woman who sought medical attention at the Nilton Santos Olympic Stadium during Friday’s show, has not yet been announced. The Rio prosecutor’s office opened a criminal investigation and said Miss Benevides’ body was undergoing an autopsy.
The death of Miss Benevides shook Brazil. She had taken her first flight to go from the center-west of the country to Rio to see her favorite musician. She also created a WhatsApp group to keep her family informed, sending photos and videos every step of the way, family members told online news site G1.
Admirers and politicians reacted to his death with outrage, speculating that it was linked to extreme heat.
Show organizer Time4Fun said on Instagram that paramedics went to Benevides after she felt unwell. She was transported to a first aid center and then to hospital, where she died an hour later, said the press release from the Brazilian performing arts company.
Water provided free of charge
After his death, spectators complained that they were not allowed to bring water into the stadium despite temperatures rising to over 39 degrees Celsius.
As temperatures continued to rise Saturday and with two more shows to come, federal authorities announced that free water would now be made available at concerts and other large events.
One of Miss Benevides’ friends, who also went to the concert, told local media that they were both given water while waiting to enter the stadium.
Spectators who attended Friday’s performance said they were not allowed to bring bottled water into the stadium, even though Rio and most of Brazil experienced record temperatures this week amid a dangerous and lasting heat wave. The daytime high in Rio on Friday was 39.1 degrees Celsius, but it was much warmer.
The apparent temperature – a combination of temperature and humidity – reached 59C on Friday morning in Rio, the highest reading ever recorded there.
During the show, Ms. Swift interrupted her performance and demanded from the stage that water be brought to a group of people who had managed to attract the singer’s attention, according to Elizabeth Morin, an audience member present Friday.
“They were holding up their phones saying, ‘We need water,'” she recalls.
Two other concertgoers interviewed by The Associated Press said they saw people feeling unwell from the heat during the show.
Justice Minister Flávio Dino said on free and easily accessible drinking water.
Taylor Swift has two other shows scheduled in Rio, a Saturday and a Sunday. State prosecutors said in a statement that they would “monitor measures to prevent further problems and ensure the public’s health is protected.”
Sadness
Rio de Janeiro Mayor Eduardo Paes said on X that “the loss of a young woman’s life… is unacceptable.”
While authorities investigate the circumstances of the death, Paes wrote, the municipality will demand on Saturday that the show’s production company provide new water distribution points, more brigades and ambulances, and advance the entry to the one-hour show.
In a handwritten note shared on her social media, Taylor Swift said she was “heartbroken.”
“I’m not going to be able to talk about it from the stage because I feel overwhelmed with grief whenever I try to,” Taylor Swift wrote. I want to say now that I feel this loss deeply and my broken heart goes out to his family and friends.”
2023-11-19 02:25:27
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