Taylor Swift performs last Rio show after devastating heat wave
Taylor Swift will perform her last show on The Eras Tour in Rio de Janeiro, following a massive heat wave that prompted her to reschedule this final show to Monday night.
It was Swift’s first time performing in Brazil, and the country honored the musical star by projecting a T-shirt referencing her “You Belong With Me” music video on the iconic Christ the Redeemer statue.
The singer pushed through the crushing heat during Friday night’s show but postponed her Saturday show to Monday to spare fans from the heat, following a a fan’s devastating heat-related death before the show, per CNN .
More than 1,000 fans fainted during the scorching heat wave, Axios reported.
“The safety and well being of my fans, fellow performers, and crew has to and always will come first,” Swift shared in a handwritten note on Instagram Stories, per USA Today.
Who was Ana Clara Benevides, who died before Taylor Swift’s show?
Ana Clara Benevides, a 23-year-old attending the show, died after losing consciousness due to cardiac arrest, The New York Times reported. She and her friend had been planning out their outfits for the show “for over a month” her friend told O Globo, per the Times .
“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 shared via her Instagram Story on Friday, per US Weekly . “I can’t even tell you how devastated I am by this. There’s very little information I have other than the fact that she was so incredibly beautiful and far too young.”
Brazil’s government is currently conducting an investigation into Time for Fun, the Brazilian event company that organized the show, after reports that there was no free water available in the stadium and allegations that it didn’t do enough to prevent the heat-related death, The New York Times reported.
“Companies producing shows with high heat exposure must provide free drinking water in easily accessible ‘hydration islands.’ The measure is effective immediately,” Justice Minister Flavio Dino wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter, per Reuters .
Taylor Swift sings ‘Bigger Than the Whole Sky’
Sunday night, Swift returned the stage, performing in the pouring rain to the 65,000 fans in attendance.
“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, per USA Today. “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.”
During the surprise song segment, Swift played the piano and sang “Bigger Than the Whole Sky” alone on stage. Fans speculated the song was a tribute to the late Benevides.
The lyrics include:
