Taylor Swift fan dies at Rio concert as fans complain about high temperatures and lack of water
A 23-year-old Taylor Swift fan died at the singer’s Eras Tour concert in Rio de Janeiro Friday night, according to a statement from the show’s organizers in Brazil.
Swift said Saturday she was devastated by the death.
“I can’t believe I’m writing these words but it is with a shattered heart that I say we lost a fan earlier tonight before my show,” Swift wrote on Instagram.
“There’s very little information I have other than the fact that she was so incredibly beautiful and far too young,” Swift said on Instagram.
Time4Fun, the organizer of the concert, identified the fan as Ana Clara Benevides Machado.
“Last night, Ana Clara felt unwell and was promptly attended to by the team of firefighters and paramedics, being taken to the medical center at the Nilton Santos Stadium for first aid protocol,” the organizer said in a statement posted to Instagram. “Given the situation, the medical team chose to transfer her to Salgado Filho Hospital, where, after almost an hour of emergency care, she unfortunately died. To the family and friends of Ana Clara Benevides Machado, our sincere condolences.”
Swift performed in Rio de Janeiro on Friday night, as part of her “Eras Tour.” She is scheduled to do two more shows in the city, on Saturday and Sunday, before shows in São Paulo that begin Nov. 24.
While the cause of death for Machado has not been announced, videos on social media from the performance showed Swift saying people needed water, and at one point she threw a bottle of water to someone in the crowd.
Brazil’s meteorological service showed a large swath of the country under a red-colored heat alert, including Rio. The forecast for Saturday was a high of 96 degrees Fahrenheit with 64% humidity, according to The Weather Channel.
Rio de Janeiro Mayor Eduardo Paes said on X the “loss of a young woman’s life … is unacceptable.”
While authorities are investigating the circumstances of the death, Paes wrote, the municipality will demand Saturday that the show’s production company provide new water distribution points, more brigades and ambulances and advance entrance to the show by one hour.
It is unclear if Swift’s current shows in Rio on Saturday and Sunday will be rescheduled because of weather concerns.
“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,” she wrote. “I want to say now I feel this loss deeply and my broken heart goes out to her family and friends.”
The Associated Press contributed.