Taylor Swift Postpones Second Brazil Concert Due to Extreme Temperatures and After Fan's Death
Taylor Swift's second Eras tour show in Rio de Janeiro won't go on as scheduled amid a heatwave and following the tragic death of a fan at her first.
The singer announced Nov. 18 that the concert that was set to take place at Nilton Santos Stadium that evening will be postponed. No new date was provided.
"I'm writing this from my dressing room in the stadium," Taylor said on her Instagram Stories. "The decision has been made to postpone tonight's show 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."
Her statement comes a day after Brazilian fan Ana Clara Benevides Machado, 23, fell ill at the pop star's first of three planned concert at the venue, where many of the some 60,000 attendees complained of extreme temperatures and inability to bring their own water, and was soon pronounced dead. Per local outlet G1, the Rio Municipal Health Department as saying that Ana arrived at a hospital in cardiorespiratory arrest.
Taylor, who had paused her show a couple times to assist other fans calling out for water, issued a statement of condolences hours after her death.
"I can't even tell you how devastated I am by this," the "Blank Space" singer wrote on her Instagram Stories. "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 stage because I feel overwhelmed by grief when I even try to talk about it."
Taylor continued, "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."
Concert organizer Time for Fun later announced plans to distribute free water at Taylor's second Rio show amid forecasts of even higher temperatures and also said multiple medical stations and mobile ICUs would be put in place at the venue.
In addition, Brazil's Minister of Justice and Public Security (MJSP), Flávio Dino, announced in a statement "the immediate adoption of measures in response to reports of sealing or lack of water availability for consumers at shows, amid the intense heat wave that is ravaging Brazil."
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