Taylor Swift seen ‘gasping for air’ on stage at sweltering Rio show where fan Ana Clara Benevides died & 1,000 fainted
TAYLOR Swift appeared to be seen gasping for air on stage at the sweltering Brazil show where a fan died and hundreds more fainted.
A fan video from the Rio de Janeiro concert on Friday night showed the pop icon seemingly struggling to breathe after performing her hit “Bejeweled”.
One worried Swiftie wrote: “OMG… this breaks my heart in so many levels.
“She’s so professional but watching her like this, my best wishes go to her.
“I’m also thinking about fans that had to endure those crazy temperatures… take care people and stay healthy!”
“Wow her chest was really heaving poor girl,” another fan wrote on Twitter in response to the video.
“OMG… this breaks my heart in so many levels,” another added.
Some even pointed out how shocking it is for Swift to be breathing hard when she is in “great physical shape”.
“She is only 33 and in incredible physical shape. That she was struggling that much is really scary,” a fan replied.
Others hypothesized the reason behind her exhaustion, saying: “I was thinking that it had to be so hot for her as well.
“The stage lighting and dancing, she was soaked last night.”
It comes after Taylor Swift postponed Saturday night’s Eras Tour concert in Rio de Janeiro following the death of a fan on Friday.
Ana Clara Benevides, 23, died of cardiac arrest in sweltering heat before the star went on stage for the first night of a three-night run in the Brazilian city.
“I’m writing this from my dressing room in the stadium,” Taylor, 33, wrote in a statement in an Instagram Story on Saturday.
“The decision has been made to postpone tonight’s show due to the extreme temperatures in Rio.”
She added: “The safety and well-being of my fans, fellow performers and crew has to and always will come first.”
The fan fainted and went into fatal cardiac arrest as she waited for the pop idol to take to the stage on Friday night.
Final footage shared by the 23-year-old shows her enduring 35C (95F) temperatures at the Rio de Janeiro stadium in the last footage of her before her death.
The temperature on the footage she posted as an Instagram Live, at 5pm local time yesterday, clearly showed it was blisteringly hot in the stadium.
Ana Clara fanned herself to cool down and tried to keep out of the sun under a large umbrella a man sitting beside her was holding as she told followers she had been inside the stadium since 11am to claim a spot near the front of the stage.
Despite the intense heat, she also appeared happy and excited at the prospect of seeing American singer songwriter Taylor start her performance in what she described as a “dream come true.”
The footage she posted showed other fans around her using large umbrellas to keep the sun’s hot rays off them, although some male concert-goers had stripped off their T-shirts and were bare-chested.
And it is understood approximately eight hours after she arrived at the stadium she collapsed, being declared dead at 8.50pm after arriving at hospital.
Earlier Ana Clara posted footage of her on a coach heading to the concert venue with a female friend where she declared: “I am fulfilling a dream.”
She went on to reveal in her Instagram Live video she had forgotten a cap she had intended to bring.
Another clip showed the moment Taylor Swift fans chant for water at the sweltering Rio de Janeiro concert.
After hearing the desperate pleas for water, the Grammy-winning artist interrupted her performance to help her fans.
“You don’t need to chant, it’s totally fine,” Taylor told her audience, later instructing her team from the stage: “We just need to get water to them.”
Another clip showed the singer tossing a water bottle to dehydrating fans during her performance of All Too Well.
Taylor grabbed the bottle from a helpful stagehand, sauntered over to the centre of the stage and launched it into the crowd.
Fans were banned from bringing their own bottles into the stadium, which reached a shocking thermal sensation of 60C.
Another fan, Elizabeth Morin, 26, also stressed the intensity of the heat, claiming many waiting in line were “yelling for water” with “a good amount of people looking distressed,” per the Associated Press.
“They were holding up their phones saying ‘We need water,’” Morin told the publication.
An Instagram post by organizers Time For Fun (T4F) listed the concert’s forbidden items which included bottles, thermal cups, cans, beverages, and plastic containers.
“It was extremely hot. My hair got so wet from sweat as soon as I came in,” Morin added.
“There was a point at which I had to check my breathing to make sure I wasn’t going to pass out.”
On Saturday, T4F released a short statement on Instagram expressing their condolences to Ana Clara’s family after her death.
Later that evening, event organisers announced new guidelines including supply of free water at queues and all accesses and entrances to the stadium.
T4F also allowed plastic bottles but still banned items such as thermal cups.
The full statement read: “Given the forecast of an increase in the heat wave in the city of Rio de Janeiro, we inform you that we are reinforcing the special action plan carried out for the first day of the show, especially the provision of free water in the queues and at all accesses and entrances to the stadium and inside.
“New free water distribution points will be available to the public during the event.
“Entry into the stadium with sealed glasses of water and sealed processed food will also be permitted, with no limitation on items per person.
“We clarify that the requirement for items to be sealed follows safety recommendations.
“We also emphasize that the prohibition of bottles of water entering stadiums is a requirement made by public bodies and that we do not sell drinks and food, which is the responsibility of the stadium administration.
“The service staff was reinforced. Around 200 extra employees will join the 1,230 professionals who have been working on the event since the beginning, including security guards, brigade members, audience advisors and others.
“Furthermore, the medical care structure was reinforced, totaling 08 available medical stations, 08 ambulances and 08 mobile ICUs.
“UPDATE: flexible plastic bottles will also be authorized for access. Any other material such as metal, aluminum and thermos bottles is prohibited.”
