Taylor Swift’s show coincided with a heat wave in Brazil. Photo / AP
Taylor Swift’s show coincided with a heat wave in Brazil. Photo / AP
Taylor Swift says she has a “shattered heart” after a fan died at her Eras Tour concert in Brazil.
The US pop star, 33, announced a young female died before her show in Rio de Janeiro on Friday night, local time, at Estadio Nilton Santos Stadium.
Swift paid tribute to the woman on her Instagram account hours after finishing the concert.
“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. I can’t even tell you how devastated I am by this,” Swift wrote.
“There’s very little information I have other than the fact that she was so incredibly beautiful and far too young.
“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. I want to say now I feel this loss deeply, and my broken heart goes out to her family and friends. This is the last thing I ever thought would happen when we decided to bring this tour to Brazil.”
Ana Clara Benevides, 23, died after suffering a cardiac arrest. Photo / Supplied
International media reported the woman who died was Ana Clara Benevides, 23, who fainted in the front row of the concert, which was performed in excessive heat.
She reportedly died after suffering a cardiac arrest.
The woman was resuscitated at the stadium for 40 minutes before dying on the way to the hospital. Temperatures at the venue were more than 37 degrees Celsius, according to weather reports.
In footage from the concert, Swift can be seen urging security to provide fans in the front row with water bottles. She is seen throwing water on fans in other footage.
Fans have taken to social media to claim that the Brazilian venue did not allow concertgoers to bring water bottles inside.
Taylor Swift helps fans chant “Water” in order to get security & staff to bring water to fans who were suffering of dehydration.
The stadium where the Brazilian show was held banned fans from bringing water bottles.
The Eras Tour is Swift’s most expansive yet, with 151 shows across five continents.
As the Rio de Janeiro shows got underway this week, Swift and her legions of devoted fans were greeted by the wide-open arms of the world’s most-famous Christ statue, sporting a projected image of a Swift-inspired T-shirt.
The Christ the Redeemer statue is illuminated with a welcome message for American singer Taylor Swift, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Photo / AP
The 38 metre Christ the Redeemer was illuminated with a towering message welcoming the singer to the country for the latest leg of her Eras Tour. The grand show of hospitality was thanks to a charitable act by her fans and orchestrated by the Christ the Redeemer Archdiocesan Sanctuary, which manages the iconic statue.
On social media, Swifties asked Rio Mayor Eduardo Paes to project onto the statue a likeness of the “Junior Jewels” shirt from Swift’s You Belong with Me music video. Their plea went viral. Paes, who once called the singer the “Madonna of our times,” said he’d take the matter to the Rev Omar Raposo, the rector of the sanctuary.
Thousands of Swift fans also recently gathered for Swift’s first-ever concert in Argentina, which took a political turn ahead of the country’s presidential elections. Swift will play six Eras shows in Brazil. The first three was at Rio’s Estádio Nilton Santos. Next week, she’ll perform in São Paulo at three shows at Allianz Parque stadium.
