Karah Provenzano, Junior Editor
December 5, 2023
After taking roughly three months off from performing, Taylor Swift began her international part of The Eras Tour in Buenos Aires, Argentina on November 9th. With cold temperatures moving into the Northern Hemisphere, it is quite the opposite in the other half of the world. The South American continent is facing a major heatwave and many countries are experiencing extreme temperatures. As Taylor touched down in Brazil for her shows in Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, so did the sweltering heat.
On November 17th in Rio de Janeiro, hundreds of thousands of Swifties gathered at the Nilton Santos Olympic Stadium hours before the performance. Temperatures reached 41 degrees celsius (about 106 degrees fahrenheit) and the heat index (what the temperature feels like) was nearly 59 degrees celsius (about 138 degrees fahrenheit). Many concertgoers stated that upon entering the stadium, they were instructed to throw out any water bottles, fans, or umbrellas they may be bringing in. They were told that they could buy water inside the stadium. However, due to the ever-rising temperatures and the great amount of people present at the show, lines to buy beverages were extremely long.
Another problem faced at this show was there were no designated floor seats like there were in the North American shows. Instead, general admission tickets were sold where fans would be standing on the floor, no seats, with each of them trying to inch closer and closer to the stage. The combination of body heat, a heat index of 139 degrees fahrenheit, and water in low supply was a deadly combo; and it most definitely was one.
It was a sad irony that during Swift’s song “Cruel Summer,” 23-year-old Ana Clara Benevides Machado fainted. She went into cardiorespiratory arrest and later died at Salgado Filho Hospital after an hour of emergency care. While Ana was the only death, officials say that over 1,000 people fainted. Machado’s family is now seeking answers from the concert organizers on why and how this tragic incident even happened.
Taylor Swift postponed her November 18th show in Rio de Janeiro due to the scorching heat and released a statement on social media saying, “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.” The Brazilian federal government and Time4Fun (event organizer) are working together to ensure water access and safety for all attendees of future concerts.