The heat is on in Rio: Swift postpones show
RIO DE JANEIRO (AFP) - American superstar Taylor Swift on Saturday postponed a show in Rio de Janeiro due to extreme heat after a fan died at the singer's concert the previous night.
Saturday's postponement came after the heat index in the city had risen to as high as 59 degrees Celsius (138 Fahrenheit) Friday when a 23-year-old fan in đìº Ąóģ³ óä ȮȨɊȨȨȨ ³Ïº³ ³ĖĄÏÊAE đìº ĸąĉđ "Eras Tour" show in Brazil.
"I'm writing this from my dressing room in the stadium," Swift posted on
Instagram Saturday. "The decision has been made to postpone tonight's show due to extreme temperatures in Rio."
"The safety and well-being of my fans, fellow performers, and crew has to and always will come ĸąĉđɊɓ Ĉ̺ ³³º³ɐ
Swift could be seen in videos posted to social media from the night before trying to help fans by dispatching aides to pass out water bottles and even throwing one to the audience herself.
"It's with a shattered heart that I say we lost a fan earlier tonight," Swift said in a post on Instagram to her millions of followers earlier Saturday. "I can't even tell you how devastated I am by this."
The Rio Health Secretariat reported that Ana Benevides died ,ĄÏ³Ĩ ºģºêïêae Äđºą ĈĖĴºĄÏÊAE Ądiorespiratory arrest in the Nilton Santos stadium during Swift's concert.
It said efforts to revive the young woman failed and an investigation had been launched. "At this time, the cause of death cannot be determined," the agency said.
Much of central and southeastºąê Ąįïá ÌĈ «ººê ĈĖĴºĄÏÊAE ê unusually oppressive springtime heat wave.
Fans lashed out at the venue's handling of the heat, saying ofĸïáĉ ̳ Āąºģºêđº³ đìºè Äąóè bringing in water.
"The lack of organization yesterday was absurd. What happened to the young woman was a crime due to bad organization. You just don't deny anybody water," said Yasmin Monteiro, 24, who tried to enter the stadium Saturday with five liters of water, before the announcement that the night's concert was postponed.
Caio Wesley, a 25-year-old who tried to carry in four liters of water, described organizers' attitude in prohibiting the entry of liquids as ɓĉºáĸĉìɐɓ
"I brought all this water to see how long I can last," he told AFP.
On Saturday, Brazil's Justice Ministry published a resolution requiring event organizers to guarantee that fans have access to drinking water.
"It is unacceptable that people ĈėĵºąɊ ÄïêđɊ ê³ ºģºê ³Ïº ³ėº đó lack of access to water," Justice Minister Flavio Dino said.
In her post, Swift said she would not discuss the woman's death from the stage as "I feel overwhelmed by grief when I even try to talk about it.
"I feel this loss deeply, and my broken heart goes out to her family and friends," she added.