Taylor Swift fan passes away at 23 during Eras Tour concert in Brazil | What happened?

The Eras Tour concert in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, have encountered an unfortunate tragedy as 23-year-old Taylor Swift fan Ana Clara Benevides Machado passed away just before the event started. While the exact cause of the incident has not been revealed publicly, all hints point towards the city’s soaring temperatures and the lack of access to water at the concert. The singer herself has shared her grief over this mishap on social media. Let’s explore the incident in detail and find out what happened to the Taylor Swift fan during the concert in Brazil.

How did the Taylor Swift fan pass away?

Reports from Brazilian news outlets suggest that Ana Clara Benevides collapsed at the Estádio Olímpico Nilton Santos venue and subsequently suffered a cardiac arrest. Allegedly, she fell from a railing before the concert began, leading to her initial collapse. 

A swiftie passed tonight after the #RioDeJaneiroTSTheErasTour. The stadium banned water bottles, and #AnaBenevides passed out and died of cardiac arrest. This is tragic and could have been avoided. Water is a basic necessity. Do better. pic.twitter.com/7mLEyKGNGY

— Taylor Swift Updates (@TaylorUpdater13) November 18, 2023

Despite efforts to revive her, Ana Clara tragically passed away at the Salgado Filho Municipal hospital, located near Engenhao in Meier, north of Rio de Janeiro. The news and the identity of the young Taylor Swift fan have been confirmed by the event’s organizer Tickets for Fun. 

The first of three Eras Tour concerts in Rio de Janeiro had a crowd of over 60,000 people and it took place despite the capital’s alarming heat index reading of 138 degrees Fahrenheit. The heatwave and the conditions at the stadium which led to thousands of others fainting seems to have resulted in Ana Clara’s untimely passing.

https://twitter.com/WorldSoundWaves/status/1725881253252276296

The extreme heat in Brazil is a result of the El Niño phenomenon. Rio de Janeiro’s mayor Eduardo Paes expressed his condolences over the Taylor Swift fan’s passing and called for improved safety measures at concerts especially related to water access. In fact, the singer herself paused the concert to make sure fans got water.

The singer’s statement of condolence

Taylor Swift took to Instagram and shared her profound sorrow over the incident as she said she was devastated by her young fan’s passing. Without sharing the fan’s name, the singer called her ‘incredibly beautiful’ and ‘far too young’.

📲| @taylorswift13 on the passing of a fan before tonight's show:

"I can't believe I'm writing these words but it is with 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 this. There's very little information I… pic.twitter.com/z8CF6zhCoY

— Taylor Swift Updates 🩶 (@swifferupdates) November 18, 2023

She said that she will not be able to address this incident from the stage as she feels overwhelmed by grief to even talk about it. Swift ended the note with a tone of regret as she said this was the last thing she had hoped to happen before deciding to bring the Eras Tour to Brazil.

Local sources report that the late Ana Clara Benevides Machado was a 23-year-old psychology student at the Federal University of Rondonopolis (UFR) in Mato Grosso. The devoted Taylor Swift fan’s tragic demise has shocked the local community in Rio as well as Swifties worldwide.