After a fan died during the first of Taylor Swift's two shows in Brazil this weekend due to incredibly high temperatures, Swift opted to take no chances with her second show and postponed the concert.
“I’m writing this from my dressing room in the stadium," Swift posted in a handwritten note on Instagram. "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.”
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23-year-old Ana Clara Benevides Machado, who became overcome by heat during the second song of Swift’s set, had gone out of her way to make it to the Swift show and was making the most of the trip.
Per AP News, “She had taken her first flight ever to travel from the country’s center-west region to Rio to see her favorite musician. She also created a WhatsApp group to keep her family updated, sending photos and videos every step of the way, family members told online news site G1.”
In the G1 article, Daniele Menin – who attended the concert with Machado – explained, “In the second song, she simply passed out. Then we took her out with the help of security guards and ran to the support post in the stadium. They attended to her and took her to the ambulance. They tried [to revive her] for about 40 minutes, but they couldn’t.”
A video from the show reveals the crowd chanting “Water! Water! Water!” as Swift can be heard appealing for help for some fans struggling in the 59.3C (138.7F) temperatures, saying: “We just need to get water to them.”
Upon learning of Machado’s death, Swift took to social media to address the situation.
“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. “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. 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. 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.”
