The family of a devoted Taylor Swift fan, who tragically passed away just days before her highly anticipated Rio concert, got a heartwarming opportunity to attend the singer’s final Brazil show.
Ana Clara Benevides Machado, aged 23, attended a concert of the Eras Tour by singer-songwriter Taylor Swift at the Estádio Olímpico Nilton Santos in Rio de Janeiro on Thursday, November 17, 2023. Sadly, the Brazilian student suffered a fatal cardiac arrest amidst a heat wave and a stadium ban on personal water bottles inside the venue. On a day that had reportedly been one of the hottest in the city, with a heat index of 59.3 °C (138.74 °F), as part of a heat wave in the country.
Since the unfortunate news, Swift, 33, has grieved Benevides’ death on social media, along with the thousands of concert-goers at her remaining shows in Brazil. Moreover, she postponed one of the concert shows, citing “extreme temperatures,” to ensure her fans’ safety. This isn’t the only effort made by the pop star to acknowledge the incident. Recently, she made a sweet gesture towards Ana Clara Benevides’s family as Swift invited them to join her Sunday’s São Paulo show.
Despite the overwhelming grief the family was experiencing, this gesture provided a glimmer of solace and a chance to honor their loved one’s unwavering admiration for the talented artist.
On the other hand, pictures of the “All Too Well” singer meeting Ana Clara Benevides’ family before commencing the São Paulo’s show have since gone viral on the internet, as shared by The Eras Tour’s social media handle on X (formerly known as Twitter). They were snapped in a close group hug with the singer as the family members were also seen wearing white shirts with a picture of the 23-year-old fan, which definitely captured this special moment that had been gifted to them for Ana’s memories.
Taylor Swift with Ana Benevides' family 🤍 tonight! #TStheErasTour pic.twitter.com/ZlFLUQs0vq
— The Eras Tour (@TSTheErasTour) November 27, 2023
The comments on the post have been uplifting as one user commented, “They made their daughter’s dream come true.” The second one wrote, “Congratulations on the great gesture Taylor.” A third one commented, “I’m happy that her fan friend who couldn’t watch the show got to meet Taylor too.” A fourth one stated, “Ana couldn’t make this dream come true but her family did it for her.” At last, a fifth one wrote, “Man, it hurts so much to know that they made Ana’s dream come true without Ana.”
Benevides was described by her friends as a person who “loved” Swift and was fulfilling a “dream” by traveling across the country on her first airplane flight to watch Swift perform live. Her wish was fulfilled by her family, who also got the chance to watch the performer live from The Eras Tour stage from what appeared to be a VIP tent, as seen in a fan-captured clip from the show, which has been shared on X, captioned, “People. Ana’s family! #TheErasTour” Take a look at the clip below:
Gente. A família da Ana! #TheErasTour pic.twitter.com/g64nL4tw5H
— Doquinto (@doquinto) November 26, 2023
Upon learning about Benevides Machado’s death, Swift shared a message about the late fan on her Instagram Story, quote:
“I can’t believe I’m writing these words, but it’s with a 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 have other than the fact she was so incredibly beautiful and far too young. 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 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.”
In addition to this, after his daughter’s death, Weiny Machado, 53, told the Brazilian newspaper Folha de S. Paulo, “I lost my only daughter, a happy and intelligent girl.”
He added, “She was about to graduate in psychology next April, saving money.” Further stating, “I have no words to express my pain. She left home to fulfill a dream and came back dead.” In the same interview, Weiny said he wants clarification on whether fans were prohibited from bringing water on the day Benevides Machado died. “I want to know if it’s true that they are prohibited from bringing water and neglected to provide assistance,” he told the outlet.
Ana’s untimely demise attracted widespread criticism from fans and politicians for the event organizer, and a consumer inquiry has been launched against the Brazilian entertainment company T4F (Time for Fun). The death sparked widespread public condemnation of T4F for their poor concert management, with many Swifties claiming that the water bottle ban, exacerbated by the heat wave and the stadium’s closed vents, caused attendees to fall sick and led to Benevides’ death.
On November 22, 2023, the government of Brazil passed a federal ordinance mandating free and easily accessible water stations in events henceforth. Critics and journalists have considered the death a consequence of climate inaction and urged for relevant laws and initiatives. At last, The Civil Police of Rio de Janeiro’s consumer delegations department is investigating the alleged “crime of danger to life or health” by the company, NBC News reported.
The organizers are under investigation, and they are expected to be called to testify on the incident as the authorities have also begun taking “additional steps to investigate the facts,” per the outlet.