Taylor Swift fans gather for chilling Rio performance after fan’s death

RIO DE JANEIRO, Nov 19 (Reuters) – Taylor Swift fans turned out for an eagerly anticipated concert in Rio de Janeiro on Sunday after Saturday’s show was postponed at the last minute due to extreme heat. previous

Temperatures dropped significantly on Sunday following two days of record-breaking heat in Brazil’s second-largest city. Fans outside Nilton Santos Stadium were hoping Sunday’s event would go ahead as planned.

“Yesterday was cancelled, today I was a little scared, but I hope everything will go well. Today is not hot, it’s cold. The expectation is high that everything will go well,” said Yasmin Moreira Oliveira in front of the vendors. Hawk umbrellas and raincoats to protect against expected rain.

On the first night of Swift’s “The Eras Tour” in Rio on Friday, 23-year-old Ana Clara Benevitus fell ill and later died in hospital.

The tragedy led the federal government to order promoter T4F ( SHOW3.SA ) to ensure water is available at all Swift’s concerts in Brazil and to issue an order allowing bottled water to be brought to all concerts from now on.

The T4F said on Saturday that it was improving its action plan for the event, particularly focusing on providing free water in queues and at all stadium entrances and exits, allowing entry with sealed water cups, flexible plastic bottles and sealed processed food.

Saturday’s postponement, announced two hours before Swift was due to take the stage, angered many fans who had already traveled to the venue, some from different states and countries.

“There were people crying, people angry, believing it was a lie, in short, it was terrible,” said student Victor Guimaraes, who waited in line again Sunday to see the singer perform.

Faced with extreme temperatures, Brazilian fan club Update Swift reached out to major water companies for donations to alleviate conditions at the Brazil site. Fans were met with a positive response by Minalba Brazil, who distributed free water bottles in the stadium area on Sunday.

“It’s a donation from the company, moved by the events of the previous day and the heat wave,” said Cristina Larrud, Minalba’s marketing director, adding that the effort will be repeated at Monday’s fair, with a total of 65,000 deliveries. Water bottles.

Swift’s Monday performance in Rio will replace Saturday’s postponed one, and the singer is scheduled to perform in Sao Paulo from November 24 to 26.

Severe heat waves due to the El Nino phenomenon and global temperature rise have gripped several Brazilian states, with temperatures above historical averages since July, according to the National Meteorological Institute.

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