Fans who attended Taylor Swift’s tragic concert in Brazil have given a glimpse into the disorganized scenes and oppressive conditions that led to the death of a young ‘Swiftie’.
Before the show, thousands of enthusiastic fans waited for hours outside the Estádio Olímpico Nilton Santos in Rio de Janeiro in temperatures exceeding 100°F, apparently fighting to sit as close to the star as possible.
One fan, Joey, who claims he was at the show, shared on TikTok that the hectic first-come, first-served seating resulted in fans “lining up very early in unbearable heat.” .
Social media footage from outside the event showed scantily clad supporters huddled under umbrellas searching for ice cream being handed out in desperate attempts to cool off hours before the show.
As he entered the sweltering stadium, he said that people in the standing room “didn’t drink water because they didn’t want to go to the bathroom and potentially lose their seats,” adding that the fans around him were “really struggling had”. ‘.
At one point, Swift’s PR boss Tree Paine was also seen handing water to a tired-looking fan while security guards were forced to restrain her.
23-year-old fan Ana Clara Benevides fainted at the show and tragically died. She is believed to have suffered cardiac arrest amid the heatwave.
Due to the show’s obvious first-come, first-served seating arrangement, the Swifties lined up outside in the sweltering heat for hours to get the best possible seat
Stadium-goer Joey shared details of what it was like during the steamy concert, describing it as “unbearable” as he said “people were really struggling.”
Scantily clad fans were seen huddling under umbrellas rushing for ice to cool off amid Brazil’s sweltering heatwave
In chaotic scenes inside the Brazil show, fans begged for water while Swift took matters into her own hands, throwing water bottles into the crowd from the stage.
As the singer told security to return water bottles to a fighting group 30 to 40 feet away, others were seen screaming, “Please!” We need water too, in a video shared by the crowd on TikTok !’
In another video, Taylor was filmed stopping her dance moves while the song “All Too Well” played in the background so she could throw a water bottle to an excited fan in the audience amid the sweltering heat.
Joey said that in his “premium” standing area, he witnessed a girl faint right in front of him, and “when we tried to call for help, no one could come.”
Swift has claimed that Benevides passed away before her show began, and it is unclear whether the fainted fan the TikTok user was referring to was Benevides.
He added that Swift’s direct attempts to help her fans appeared to be ignored by stadium officials: “She called someone who tried to get this person some water, but it took what felt like several minutes for anything to happen.”
“Taylor was kind of like, ‘What’s going on here?'” he said, adding that – despite the famous difficulty of getting a ticket to the Eras Tour – some fans were forced to leave the show early to beat the heat escape.
Tributes poured in for Benevides, who is seen in an undated picture wearing an “I love Taylor Swift” singlet top
In another video, Taylor was filmed throwing a water bottle to an enthusiastic fan in the audience amid the sweltering heat
Joey said the concert’s chaotic seating arrangement resulted in fans fighting the elements to get closer to the star and not drinking water to avoid going to the bathroom and losing their seats
In response to the event’s conditions, a petition was launched in Brazil, calling on officials to provide free water at every event in the South American country and attributing Benevide’s death to “pure negligence.”
Another fan who says he was at the event also took to TikTok to talk about the event, but claimed Benevides fainted after Swift began singing “the first few songs.”
“This isn’t Taylor’s fault,” he insisted. “She told the staff to give everyone free water and they barely did – it wasn’t enough, it didn’t happen often, I was dying.”
“I think I almost fainted, like you imagine that girl… she was just there to have a good time,” he said, adding that the heat in the stadium felt like “140 degrees.”
He echoed Joey’s concerns about the huge lines of people waiting for hours outside the stadium, saying he arrived around midday to find hundreds of people “already waiting.”
“And the heat, I didn’t even have an umbrella and a lot of people had umbrellas, I felt like people weren’t hydrating enough… I’m so mad.”
The fan claimed that security ignored Swift’s pleas to help her fans, that “water wasn’t that accessible,” and that fans endured the oppressive heat to keep their seats and avoid going to the bathroom.
As Swift intervened as the crowd screamed “We need water,” a clip filmed by a spectator saw Taylor respond to calls for water by asking stadium staff for help, while also noting the sweltering temperatures at the venue.
She said, “See that?” I’m sorry, it’s just really hot. So when someone says they need water when it’s this hot, they really need it.”
To calm the situation as it threatened to escalate, Taylor continued: “We don’t have to chant, it’s totally fine.” We just have to give them water. Does anyone here have water?’
Sad: Taylor was unaware of the tragedy during her performance and has since issued a statement expressing her devastation over Benevides’ death
Ana Clara Benevides fainted during the show and presumably suffered cardiac arrest. Despite the efforts of doctors on site, the 23-year-old was then taken to hospital, where she died
Swift was candid in her statement, revealing that she “won’t be able to talk about it on stage” because she was “overwhelmed with grief” following Benevide’s death
Swift shared her heartbreak after the show over Benevides’ death and said she was shocked by what happened after she returned to Brazil.
“I can’t believe I’m writing these words, but with your heartbreak I say we lost a fan before my show tonight.” “I can’t tell you how devastated I am about this,” wrote Swift.
“There is very little information that I have other than the fact that she was so incredibly beautiful and very young,” she continued.
“I won’t be able to talk about it on stage because I’ll be overwhelmed with grief if I even try to talk about it.” I want to say now that I feel this loss deeply and my heartbreak goes out to her family and her friends. “That was the last thing I ever thought would happen when we decided to move the store to Brazil.”
The show’s organizers, T4F, which stands for Time For Fun, one of the largest in the world, issued a statement after the tragedy but did not address fans’ criticism over lack of water and unsafe conditions.
“It is with great sadness that we inform you of the death of Ana Clara Benevides Machado at the age of 23,” the company said.
“Last evening, Ana Clara felt unwell and was taken by a team of emergency responders and paramedics to a medical center at Nilton Santos Olympic Stadium so that first aid protocol could be applied.”
“Given the situation, the medical team decided to transfer her to Salgado Filho Hospital.” After almost an hour of emergency care, she sadly passed away.
“We extend our sincerest condolences to the family and friends of Ana Clara Benevides.”