Fans who endured Taylor Swift’s tragic concert in Brazil have offered a glimpse inside the disorganized scenes and sweltering conditions that left a young ‘Swiftie’ dead.
Before the show, thousands of adoring fans waited outside the Estádio Olímpico Nilton Santos in Rio de Janeiro for hours in temperatures exceeding 100F, apparently battling to get seats as close to the star as possible.
One fan, Joey – who claims he was at the show, shared on TikTok that the event’s frantic ‘first come first serve’ seating led fans to ‘line up really early in unbearable heat.’
Social media footage from outside the event saw scantily-clad supporters huddled under umbrellas and searching for ice which was being handed out in desperate attempts at cooling off hours before the show.
Once inside the blistering stadium, he said people in the standing only sections were ‘not drinking water, because they don’t want to go to the bathroom and potentially lose their spot’, adding that fans around him in that area ‘were really struggling’.
At one stage, Swift’s public relations chief Tree Paine was also seen handing a weary-looking fan water as security guards were forced to hold her steady.
It comes as fan Ana Clara Benevides, 23, fainted while at the show and tragically died, with it believed she suffered a cardiac arrest amid the heatwave.
The show’s apparent ‘first come first serve’ seating saw ‘Swifties’ line up for hours outside in the blistering heat to try and gain the best seat possible
Stadium attendee Joey shared details of what it was like inside the sweltering concert, describing it as ‘unbearable’ as he said ‘people were really struggling’
Scantily-clad fans were seen huddled under umbrellas and rushing for ice to try and cool off amid Brazil’s sweltering heatwave
Chaotic scenes inside the Brazil show saw fans pleading for water, as Swift took matters into her own hands and tossed water bottles into the crowd from the stage.
As the singer told security to pass water bottles back to a struggling group ’30, 40 feet back’, video shared to TikTok from the crowd saw others scream, ‘Please! We need water too!’
In another video, Taylor was captured stopping her dance moves as the song ‘All Too Well’ played in the background so she could toss a water bottle out to an adoring fan in the audience amid the sweltering heat.
Joey said that in his section at the ‘premium’ standing area, he witnessed a girl faint right in front of him, and ‘when we tried to call for help, nobody was able to come.’
Swift has claimed that Benevides passed away before her show began, and it is unclear if the fan who fainted that the TikTok user was referring to was Benevides.
He added that Swift’s direct attempts to help her fans appeared to be ignored by stadium officials, saying: ‘She called for somebody to try and get that person some water, but it took like what felt like multiple minutes for something to happen.
‘Taylor was sort of like, ‘What’s going on here?’ he said, adding that some fans – despite the famous difficulty of obtaining an Eras Tour ticket – were forced to leave the show early to escape the heat.
Swift’s concert organizers quickly announced sweeping changes to the star’s remaining tour shows in response to the chaos in the stadium.
Tributes have poured in for Benevides, seen in an undated picture wearing an I love Taylor Swift singlet top
In another video, Taylor was captured tossing a water bottle out to an adoring fan in the audience amid the sweltering heat
Joey said the concert’s chaotic seating saw fans battle the elements to get close to the star, and avoid drinking water to not go to the bathroom and lose their spot
Backlash to the event’s conditions has seen a petition launched in Brazil urging officials to provide free water at every event in the South American country, blaming Benevides’ death on ‘sheer negligence.’
Another fan who says he was at the event also took to TikTok to speak about the event, but claimed Benevides passed out after Swift started singing ‘the first few songs.’
‘This is not Taylor’s fault,’ he insisted. ‘She told staff to give everyone free water, and they barely did that – it wasn’t enough, it wasn’t often, I was dying.’
‘I think I was almost passing out, like imagine that girl… she was just there to have a good time,’ he said, adding that the heat inside the stadium felt like ‘140 degrees.’
He echoed Joey’s concerns about the huge lines of people waiting outside the stadium for hours before, and said he arrived at around midday to find hundreds of people ‘already waiting.’
‘And the heat, I didn’t even bring an umbrella and a lot of people had an umbrella, I felt like people weren’t hydrating enough… I’m so p****d off.’
The fan claimed security ignored Swift’s pleas to help her fans, that ‘water wasn’t that accessible’, and said fans would endure the sweltering conditions to keep their spots and avoid going to the bathroom.
When Swift stepped in as the crowd screamed ‘We need water’, a clip filmed by an audience member saw Taylor respond to the calls for water by urging stadium staff to help, while noting the blistering temperature at the venue.
She said: ‘Do you see that? Sorry It’s just it’s very hot. So, if someone says they need water when it’s this hot, they really need it.’
In a bid to calm the situation down as it threatened to escalate, Taylor continued: ‘We don’t need to chant, it’s totally fine. We just need to get water to them. Does anyone here have water?’
Sad: Taylor was unaware of the tragedy during her performance and has since issued a statement expressing her devastation over Benevides’ death
Ana Clara Benevides fainted while at the show and is believed to have had a cardiac arrest and despite efforts from doctors on site the 23-year-old was subsequently taken to hospital where she died
Swift offered candor in her statement revealing that she was ‘not going to be able to speak about this from stage’ because she is ‘overwhelmed by grief’ after Benevides death
Swift shared her heartbreak after the show at the passing of Benevides, saying she was shocked at what happened upon her return to Brazil.
‘I can’t believe I’m writing these words, but it is with her shattered heart that I say we lost a fan earlier tonight before my show. I can’t even tell you how devastated I am by by this,’ Swift wrote.
‘There’s very little information I have other than the fact that she was so incredibly beautiful and far two young,’ she continued.
‘I’m not going to be able to speak about this from the 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 broken heart goes out to her family and friends. This is the last thing I ever thought would happen when we decided to bring the store to Brazil.’
The organizers of the show, T4F, stood for Time For Fun, one of the largest in the world, issued a statement following the tragedy, but did not address criticisms from fans over a lack of water and unsafe conditions.
‘It’s with great sadness that we inform you about the death of Ana Clara Benevides Machado aged 23,’ the company said.
‘Yesterday night, Ana Clara felt unwell and was assisted by a team of emergency workers and paramedics, being taken to a medical centre at Nilton Santos Olympic Stadium so the first aid protocol could be applied.
‘Given the situation, the medical team opted to transfer her to Salgado Filho Hospital. After nearly an hour of emergency assistance, she regrettably died.
‘We send our most sincere condolences to the family and friends of Ana Clara Benevides.’