RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) – Taylor Swift fans headed to her eagerly expected show in Rio de Janeiro on Sunday, the first concert since a fan died in sweltering conditions that led to a last-minute postponement of Saturday’s performance.
Temperatures were significantly lower on Sunday following two days of record-breaking heat in Brazil’s second-largest city. Fans outside the Nilton Santos stadium were apprehensive after the previous night’s postponement but expected the show to go ahead.
“There was the cancellation yesterday, I was a bit apprehensive about today, but I hope everything goes well. Today is not hot, it’s cool. The expectation is high for everything to go well,” said Iasmin Moreira Oliveira, in front of vendors hawking umbrellas and raincoats to protect from the expected rains.
On the first night of Swift’s “The Eras Tour” in Rio on Friday, 23-year-old Ana Clara Benevides fell ill and later died in the hospital.
The tragedy led the federal government to order event organizer T4F to ensure water access at all of Swift’s concerts in Brazil and issue a directive allowing water bottles to be brought into all concerts from now on.
T4F said on Saturday it would enhance its action plan for the event, particularly focusing on providing free water at queues and all stadium entrances and exits, allowing entry with sealed water cups, flexible plastic bottles, and sealed processed foods.
Saturday’s postponement, which Swift announced just two hours before she was on stage, angered many fans who had already made the journey, some from different states and countries, to the stadium.
“There were people crying, people throwing tantrums, hoping it was all a lie, in short, it was terrible,” said student Victor Guimaraes, who was waiting in line again on Sunday to watch the singer’s performance.
Intense heat waves, attributed to the El Niño phenomenon and global temperature rises, have gripped multiple Brazilian states, with temperatures surpassing historical averages since July, according to the National Institute of Meteorology.
(Reporting by Sergio Queiroz, Writing by Marcela Ayres, Editing by Chris Reese)
