Cruel Summer-Like Heat Kills Swiftie in Eras Tour’s Rio Leg

Taylor Swift announced she was postponing the rest of the Rio de Janeiro leg of her Eras Tour due to the sweltering heat wave in the Brazilian city.

The Associated Press reported a day before her first concert that despite Brazil still within the season of spring, the National Institute of Meteorology has already issued a red alert for the country's center-west, southeast, and parts of the north of a "high probability" of accidents due to the heat wave.

She also made the decision after she was informed a fan of hers, 23-year-old Ana Clara Benevides Machado, has died in hospital on Friday (November 17) due to the heat wave while attending Swift's concert at the Nilton Santos Olympic Stadium.

As of writing, no immediate updates or context were provided by both Swift's publicist and the Time for Fun (T4F), the Brazilian organizer of the show, on when the rest of the singer's Rio leg would be rescheduled.

According to The Weather Channel, the cause of Benevides's death was not immediately known, but Friday's temperatures near the stadium rose to 37 degrees Celsius in the afternoon before dropping to the low 30s by 20:00, local time (23:00 UTC).

A Literally 'Cruel Summer' in Spring

Benevides's friend Daniele Menin told local media that Benevides passed out as Swift performed the second song of her setlist.

Ironically, it was "Cruel Summer."

"It was out of nowhere," Menin told G1. "We were very happy. We cried with joy in the first song. Out of nowhere, she just fell."

It was also revealed that Benevides flew to Rio from the center-west countryside just to get to the show.

All across the places where Swift visited for her Eras tour, thousands of her fans - known in pop culture as "Swifties" - form very long queues and wait for hours outside the concert venues to get as close as they could to her stage.

What made the situation worse was that concertgoers were prohibited from bringing water into the stadium. With Benevides's death, a petition was made to allow and require people to bring water at concerts, garnering 150,000 signatures in just a few hours.

In response, Brazilian attorney-general Flavio Dino took to social media on Saturday morning, saying that rules were being immediately changed to mandate to allow people to bring water bottles for personal consumption in concerts and that companies producing shows during high heat exposure must provide free drinking water in easily accessible "hydration islands."

Taylor Swift 'Devastated' by Swiftie's Death

Meanwhile, Swift took to Instagram to express her grief, saying she was "devastated" upon learning Benevides's death.

"I'm not going to be able to speak about this from stage because I feel overwhelmed by grief when I even try to talk about it," she said in a hand-written note. "I want to say now I feel this loss deeply and my broken heart goes out to her family and friends."

She also announced the decision to postpone the rest of her Rio tour at a later date, citing that the "safety and well being of [her] fans, fellow performers, and crew has to and always will come first."

Heat exhaustion happens when a person experiences dizziness, headaches, shaking, and thirst. While not serious, it is best that the person gets to cool down within 30 minutes.

A more serious condition is a heat stroke, when the body's core temperature goes above 40.5 degrees Celsius. It is considered a medical emergency and could lead to long-term organ damage and death.

Swift would also have three shows in Sao Paulo later this month.