Weather has proven to be an issue for Taylor Swift on the international leg of her Eras Tour, with the singer forced to postpone a concert in Argentina because of heavy thunderstorms before tragedy struck her November 17 stop in Brazil. Ana Clara Benevides Machado, 23, died before the Friday show in Rio de Janeiro, reportedly after going into cardiac arrest amid extreme temperatures. As Swift decided to postpone her November 18 concert, Ana Clara’s father spoke out about the death of his only daughter.
Ana Clara Benevides Machado’s official cause of death is unknown, but extreme heat at the November 17 Eras Tour stop affected many fans who waited in line for hours to get into the general admission concert. Ana Clara’s father, 53-year-old Weiny Machado, was devastated when he told the Folha de São Paulo newspaper (via Hindustan Times):
I lost my only daughter, a happy and intelligent girl. She was about to graduate in Psychology next April, saving money. I have no words to express my pain. She left home to fulfil a dream and came back dead.
It’s unimaginable what Ana Clara Benevides Machado’s loved ones must be feeling after the tragedy. Taylor Swift released a statement of her own following the concert, saying she was “overwhelmed with grief.” The decision was later made to move the scheduled Saturday night show to Monday, November 20, when, according to the Weather Channel, temperatures were expected to be in the 70s.
Weiny Machado called for an investigation into claims that the venue didn’t allow Swifties to bring in water, telling the newspaper:
I want it to be found out whether they were in fact prohibited from bringing water, whether there was negligence in providing assistance. I know that the singer was handing out water to her fans, and that is absurd for an event of this size. Nothing will bring my daughter back, but I hope that, if negligence is confirmed, someone will be punished, so that this doesn't happen to anyone else.
Videos went viral on TikTok of Taylor Swift and her crew showing concern for the crowd members and trying to get water to people who needed it. At one point she paused her concert and pointed out a section who needed help, ensuring someone was on their way before resuming the show. Later in the show, as she sang “All Too Well (Ten Minute Version), she got a bottle of water herself and threw it into the crowd.
Rio de Janeiro’s mayor, Eduardo Paes also spoke out on X, calling the 23-year-old fan’s death “unacceptable,” and saying that increased safety measures will be taken at the remaining shows, including keeping waiting fans out of the sun, new water distribution points and an increased number of staffers and ambulances.
Hopefully in conjunction with lower temperatures, this will keep Swifties safe at Taylor Swift’s upcoming events and fulfill Ana Clara Benevides Machado’s father’s wish of no other family having to go through what their family is right now.
