Taylor Swift returns to the Rio stage after fan's death, show postponement
Taylor Swift returned to the Rio de Janeiro stage Sunday after a heavy weekend following the death of a 23-year-old fan.
"How lucky do you have to be to have 65,000 people dance in the pouring rain with you?" she asked the crowd at the top of the show. "I've never gotten to bring a tour to Brazil before and you've been so supportive to me ever since the beginning of my career."
Swift added, "I love you so much and I'm so happy to see your faces tonight you have no idea." Later on during the singer's set, the crowd erupted after "Champagne Problems" as Swift teared up mouthing "I love you," according to social media footage.
More precautions were put in place Sunday following the death of Ana Clara Benevides Machado, who attended the Eras Tour on Friday night. As a result of Benevides' death, Swift informed fans via an Instagram statement that the Friday show would be postponed "due to the extreme temperatures in Rio."
"The safety and well being of my fans, fellow performers, and crew has to and always will come first," Swift added in the handwritten note.
During Sunday's show, firefighters sprayed the crowd with water outside of the Nilton Santos Olympic Stadium to help fans stay cool. Free water, cups and handheld fans were also provided to concertgoers.
Recently: Taylor Swift fan dies at the Eras Rio tour amid heat wave. Mayor calls for water for next shows
Swift made no mention Sunday of the death of Benevides or the postponed show.
On Friday, in a separate social media statement, Swift wrote: "I'm not going to be able to speak about this from stage because I feel overwhelmed by grief when I even try to talk about it."
Saturday's show was postponed to Monday due to the excessive heat. Swift has one more stop on the 2023 leg of the Eras Tour: São Paulo, Brazil.
Free water provided at Taylor Swift's Sunday show
The show's organizer, Time4Fun (@t4f on Instagram), released a statement on Sunday, announcing that free water would be available at all entrances to the stadium as well as inside.
They said sealed bottles and sealed processed food would also be permitted. Two hundred more employees were hired to join the 1,230 professionals who have been working the event, including security guards, brigade members, audience advisors and medical care staff.
More: Taylor Swift plays new surprise songs in Brazil
What happened to Taylor Swift fan, Ana Clara Benevides?
Benevides' cause of death has not yet been announced. She had sought medical attention at the stadium and local media reports from Brazil said she suffered cardiac arrest.
The death shook many fans and politicians in Brazil. Rio de Janeiro Mayor Eduardo Paes said the "loss of a young woman’s life ... is unacceptable," in a post on X, formerly Twitter.
Rio's public prosecutor opened a criminal investigation and said Benevides' body was being examined.
According to the news site G1, per The Associated Press, Benevides created a WhatsApp group to keep her family updated with photos and videos of her trip. Benevides sent a video to family members that was broadcast by TV channel Globo News, telling them: “Mom, look at the plane, it’s moving. Mom, I’m on the plane. My God in heaven! I’m happy!”
Then before the concert, she posted a video of herself on Instagram wearing a Taylor Swift T-shirt and friendship bracelets, seeking shade under an umbrella while waiting in line to enter the stadium.
Benevides’ friend, Daniele Menin, who attended the concert with her, told online news site G1 that her friend passed out at the beginning of the concert, as Swift performed her second song, “Cruel Summer.”
Taylor Swift fans speak out about Friday show in Brazil
Fans who attended the Friday show said they were not allowed to bring water bottles into the stadium even though Rio and most of Brazil have had record-breaking temperatures this week amid a dangerous and lasting heat wave. The daytime high in Rio on Friday was 39.1 degrees Celsius (102.4 degrees Fahrenheit), but it felt much hotter.
Apparent temperature — a combination of temperature and humidity — hit 59 C (138 F) Friday morning in Rio, the highest index ever recorded there.
Elizabeth Morin, 26, who recently moved to Rio from Los Angeles, described “sauna-like” conditions inside the stadium.
“It was extremely hot. My hair got so wet from sweat as soon as I came in,” she told The Associated Press in an interview. “There was a point at which I had to check my breathing to make sure I wasn’t going to pass out.”
Morin said she drank plenty of water but saw “a good amount of people looking distressed” and others “yelling for water.” She said she was able to get water from the sidelines of the area she was standing in, but that water was a lot harder to access from other parts of the stadium, “especially if you were concerned about losing your specific position.”
Taylor Swift pauses performance to give fans water
the fact that TAYLOR SWIFT had to hand out water bottles because the security weren't????????????? brazilian swifies i am so sorry and angry for you pic.twitter.com/YSS9l8znyA
— zoe (@wastethezoe) November 18, 2023
During the Friday show, Swift paused her performance and asked from the stage for water to be brought to a group of people who had successfully caught the singer's attention, according to Morin.
“They were holding up their phones saying ‘We need water,’” she recalled.
Contributing: Diane Jeantet, The Associated Press
More: Taylor Swift postpones Saturday Rio show due to high temperatures
Follow Bryan West, the USA TODAY Network's Taylor Swift reporter, on Instagram, TikTok and X as @BryanWestTV.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Taylor Swift performs in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil after fan's death
