Fans of US singer Taylor Swift cool off as they queue outside the Nilton Santos Olympic Stadium before Swift's concert, "Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour", amid a heat wave in Rio de Janeiro on 18 November, 2023. Photo: Terico Teixeira / AFP
By Rodrigo Viga Gaier for Reuters
The death of a young Brazilian fan who fell ill at a concert by US singer Taylor Swift in sweltering Rio de Janeiro last month was due to heat exhaustion, police said on Wednesday.
Ana Clara Benevides, 23, collapsed at the Nilton Santos Stadium on 17 November while attending the first of six shows that Swift performed in Brazil as part of The Eras Tour.
Benevides was taken to an on-site medical station and later transferred to the Salgado Filho Hospital, where she died.
The concert came amid Brazil's record-breaking heat-wave in November, with Rio recording on that day its highest-ever levels at the time of the so-called heat index, which combines temperature and humidity, at 59.3 degrees Celsius.
A police report published on Wednesday said Benevides suffered heat exhaustion that led to cardiovascular and respiratory issues, citing "alveolar haemorrhage and polyvisceral congestion caused by diffuse exposure to heat" as the official cause of death.
Toxicological tests did not indicate alcohol or drugs in her blood, the report said.
Benevides had travelled from Mato Grosso do Sul state in midwest Brazil to Rio to attend the concert.
Show organisers T4F acknowledged they could have taken more measures to help fans cope with the extreme heat in Rio, including changing the start time for shows and publicising that fans could enter with cups of water.
Rio police opened a probe into the firm last month.
"Company representatives will be called to provide clarifications following this report," police said in a statement on Wednesday, adding that the investigation was ongoing.
Following the news of Benevides' death, Swift wrote on Instagram that she had a "shattered heart" and was "devastated."
She postponed her second Rio concert the next day due to scorching heat, but went ahead with the remaining shows on the Brazilian leg of The Eras Tour.
- Reuters