Taylor Swift’s concert bosses are facing a heartbreaking demand from the dad of a fan who died at her sweltering Brazil gig to reveal whether the crowd was blocked from bringing water into the show.
Ana Clara Benevides, 23, is said to have fainted ahead of her death on Friday while she was in the front row of the Estádio Nilton Santos in Rio de Janeiro in temperatures of 60C to see Swift, 33, perform as part of her ‘Eras Tour’.
Her dad Weiny Machado, 53, has now told Brazilian newspaper Folha de S.Paulo about how he wants answers over her shock passing: “I lost my only daughter, a happy and intelligent girl. She was about to graduate in psychology next April, saving money.
“I have no words to express my pain. She left home to fulfil a dream and came back dead.”
Opening up about how he wants an investigation into the circumstances surrounding Benevides’ death, he said: “I want it to be found out whether they were in fact prohibited from bringing water, whether there was negligence in providing assistance.”
According to Folha de S.Paulo, Benevides fainted while she was in the front row for Swift’s show and was “resuscitated at the stadium for about 40 minutes” before suffering a second cardiac arrest while on the way to a hospital.
Benevides reportedly died shortly after arriving at a local hospital, with the Spanish paper reporting the heat index at the stadium “reached 60C” – 140F – and firefighters reportedly “counted a thousand faintings during the event”.
Fans filled social media with claims they had been prohibited from bringing water bottles into the stadium.
And in multiple fan footage posted online over the weekend, Swift could be seen stopping her show several times to ask for water on behalf of her fans, who were chanting for refreshment at one point.
A clip also showed Swift struggling for breath after performing her hit ‘Bejeweled’.
Swift said in her announcement on Saturday about cancelling her second scheduled gig at the stadium that night: “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 wellbeing of my fans, fellow performers and crew always has to come first.”
It’s unclear when the concert will take place as no more information was given.
Hours earlier, Swift used another Instagram Story to tell fans she was “overwhelmed” by grief over Benevides’ death.