Taylor Swift postpones Saturday Rio show due to high temperatures
Taylor Swift has postponed night two of the Eras Tour in Rio de Janeiro due to sweltering temperatures, one day after a fan died at her show.
In a post to her Instagram story Swift wrote, "I'm writing this from my dressing room in the stadium. 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."
Hundreds of fans had already started to fill the stadium. Water bottles were distributed along the barricades. Fans were also set up in aisles. Rio's mayor said he ordered there be earlier access for medical and emergency crews.
There was an excessive heat warning in Rio on Saturday when temperatures reached 92 degrees Fahrenheit.
On Friday, Ana Clara Benevides Machado, a 23-year-old fan who attended Friday's night's concert, was transported to the hospital and pronounced dead during the excessive heat wave warning. The cause of death for Benevides Machado has not been announced, however local media reports from Brazil said she suffered cardiac arrest.
"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 posted in an Instagram message several hours after the show. "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 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."
Swift paused her first show in Rio on Friday to make sure fans got water and threw a water bottle into the crowd, as temperatures rose to almost 100 degrees Fahrenheit Friday and an excessive heat warning was issued.
"There's people that need water right here, maybe 30, 35, 40 feet back," she said during the Evermore set, pointing to a floor section of the crowd. "So whoever is in charge of giving them that, just make sure that happens. Can I get a signal that you know where they are?"
"Do you see the phones?" she is heard talking to her team off-stage in one of many videos posted from the show, as the crowd chants: "Water, water, water, water."
The show producer's Instagram @t4f shared a post that Saturday's concert has been postponed to Monday. Swift has another concert in Rio scheduled for Sunday.
Swift postponed one show in Argentina earlier this month due to heavy rain. During her tour in the United States, she played through rainstorms (Tennessee and Massachusetts) and moved at least one show up an hour to avoid incoming storms.
Taylor Swift fan dies at Rio showRio mayor called for water for upcoming shows and other measures to mitigate the heat.
Follow Bryan West, the USA TODAY Network's Taylor Swift reporter, on Instagram, TikTok and X as @BryanWestTV.
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