Taylor Swift has postponed Saturday’s Eras Tour show citing “extreme temperatures” in Brazil.
The Midnights singer took to Instagram moments just ago and shared that she came to the decision to postpone the show while in her dressing room inside Estadio Nilton Santos in Rio de Janeiro.
“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,” she said in a handwritten messaged shared on her Instagram Story. “The safety and well-being of my fans, fellow performers, and crew has to and always will come first.”
The postponement comes one day after a fan died Friday just moments before attending the concert. Ahead of taking the stage, the “Lavender Haze” singer said she was “devastated” after learning about the fan’s death. She added that she wouldn’t be able to talk about it from the stage because she felt “overwhelmed by grief.”
“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 said in a handwritten note shared on her Instagram Story. “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.”
She added, “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.”
Time for Fun, one of the event’s organizers, announced on its verified X account that the victim was 23-year-old Ana Clara Benevides. According to the organizer’s statement (written in Portuguese), Benevides felt unwell and was promptly tended to by paramedics before being taken to the stadium’s medical center. She was then transported to a nearby hospital where she died.
According to multiple reports, Benevides went into cardiac arrest purportedly due to the extreme heat. The Associated Press had previously reported that Brazil’s battling a dangerous heat wave. The heat index hit a staggering 137 degrees on Tuesday morning, and Saturday’s “feel-like” temperature was expected to be 111 degrees.
Rio de Janeiro Mayor Eduardo Paes took to his X account Saturday morning and shared “the loss of a young woman’s’ life at the show” is “unacceptable.” Amid the intense heat wave, the mayor has directed organizers to allow fans entry into the stadium an hour earlier than usual, increase water distribution points and increase ambulances.
The fan’s shocking death triggered the Brazilian government to reportedly launch an investigation into access to water at concerts. It had been reported that fans complained about not being allowed to bring water battles into the stadium despite the soaring temperatures The Associated Press reported that fans launched an online petition Saturday morning calling for a “Benevides Law” to “make water in events mandatory.”
Hours before she postponed Saturday’s show, hordes of fans got in line at the stadium hours before gates opened, and they protected themselves from the intense sun with umbrellas.
This is the second time Swift has been forced to postpone one of her Eras Tour shows due to extreme weather. She had to rescheduled the second night of her three-show stay in Argentina, saying the “chaotic weather” would endanger her fans and crew.
“I love a rain show but I’m never going to endanger my fans or fellow performers and crew,” Swift wrote on Instagram. “We’ve rescheduled tonight’s Buenos Aires show for Sunday due to the weather being so truly chaotic it would be unsafe to try and put on this concert. Good news is I get to stay in Argentina longer!”
On her night off, Swift was spotted hand in hand with the Kansas City Chiefs star on a date in Buenos Aires.
RELATED CONTENT: