Father of fan who died at Taylor Swift concert speaks up
The father of Ana Benevides, a Taylor Swift fan who died at the singer’s concert in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, has spoken about her death.
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The family of Ana Clara Benevides Machado, the young Taylor Swift fan who died in Río de Janeiro Nov. 17, attended the final night of the Eras Tour in São Paulo, Brazil.
Swift met with the family before the show in Brazil, according to Folha de S.Paulo, a Brazilian newspaper. They posted a photo on Instagram of Machado’s family with Swift and report the family watched the concert from one of the VIP tents on the floor. Benevides’ family were are all wearing a shirt with her face on it.
It is unclear whether Benevides’ family was personally invited by Swift’s and her team.
A Swift fan page also shared footage on Instagram.
Benevides died during the excessive heat warning of night one in Rio de Janeiro.
“I can’t believe I’m writing these words but it is with a shattered heart that I say we lost a fan earlier tonight before my show,” Swift said in an Instagram story message several hours after the show. “I can’t even tell you how devastated I am by this.”
According to the news site G1, per The Associated Press, Benevides created a WhatsApp group to keep her family updated with photos and videos of her trip. Benevides sent a video to family members that was broadcast by TV channel Globo News, telling them: “Mom, look at the plane, it’s moving. Mom, I’m on the plane. My God in heaven! I’m happy!”
Then before the concert, she posted a video of herself on Instagram wearing a Taylor Swift T-shirt and friendship bracelets, seeking shade under an umbrella while waiting in line to enter the stadium.
Benevides’ friend, Daniele Menin, who attended the concert with her, told online news site G1 that her friend passed out at the beginning of the concert, as Swift performed her second song, “Cruel Summer.”
More: As police investigate fan death at Taylor Swift show, safety expert shares concert tips
Speaking to USA TODAY, experts questioned whether proper safety measures were taken by the Brazil tour producer, Time For Fun, of Taylor Swift’s Rio de Janeiro show. The CEO of Time For Fun said the company could have taken more precautions.
Andrea Davis, the president and CEO of the Resiliency Initiative, a global consulting company focused on crisis management and risk mitigation planning, didn’t have an inside look at the show’s planning. But she says: “It was a big miss.”
Davis has 25 years of emergency management experience and has worked with corporations such as Disney and Wal-Mart and on events including the World Cup and the Times Square ball drop on New Year’s Eve.
“They should have known about the weather,” she says. “There should have been protocols for the venue. They should have made sure about the water accessibility, made sure there was plenty of water and if they ran out, had a contingency to get more. They should have had cooling stations and misters. And was the staff trained to be able to go out and see if somebody was struggling and get them to help?”
With Swift’s Eras Tour resuming in Europe next summer — where a heat wave closed the Acropolis in Greece when temperatures rose too high and where the city of Rome set up water stations to help tourists — Davis recommends that Swift’s team help keep concertgoers safe.
Swift’s Eras Tour has wrapped for 2023. She will resume the tour in February of 2024 in Tokyo, Japan.
More: Taylor Swift returns to the Rio stage after fan’s death, show postponement
Follow Bryan West, the USA TODAY Network’s Taylor Swift reporter, on Instagram, TikTok and X as @BryanWestTV
