Taylor Swift tour puts spotlight on Brazil’s mega-event negligence

“I don’t know what my purpose in life will be after I see Taylor,” said Ana Clara Benevides on X (formerly Twitter), ten days before U.S. pop supernova Taylor Swift was scheduled to begin three days of concerts in Rio de Janeiro, between November 17 and 19.

Ms. Benevides traveled more than 1,700 kilometers from her hometown in Mato Grosso do Sul state and arrived early in the morning at the Nilton Santos Olympic Stadium in Rio de Janeiro, where the show took place. 

During the night’s opening number, “Miss Americana and The Heartbreak Prince,” Ms. Benevides and her cousin hugged each other. It was a much-awaited dream coming true. But during the second song, “Cruel Summer,” she fell to the floor, unconscious.

A few minutes later, medical teams confirmed that Ms. Benevides was dead after going into cardiac arrest. According to a preliminary coroner’s report, she had suffered a pulmonary hemorrhage. More tests are being conducted to determine the cause of death. Ms. Benevides had no pre-existing illnesses and experts say that the most likely reason for her death was a reaction to extreme temperature.

Undergoing an extreme heatwave that increased temperatures by an average of 5ºC, according to the National Institute of Meteorology, thermometers in Rio de Janeiro went above 40ºC on the day of Taylor Swift’s first show. The heat index inside the stadium was close to 60ºC. According to extreme weather researcher Maximiliano Herrera, that was “arguably the highest” index in the history of the Americas.

Fans inside the stadium said that ventilation outlets were covered so that those milling around outside could not watch the concert for free. A metal plate was installed near the stage railing to protect the grass but created an inferno that baked spectators. Pyrotechnics used during the singer’s performance ended up turning the stadium into an oven.

To make matters worse, Time for Fun (T4F), the company managing the event, prohibited fans from entering the premises with water bottles. Plastic cups of no more than 200 milliliters were sold for BRL 8 (USD 1.64), four times the regular price. At one point, Taylor Swift herself stopped the show to hand out water to the fans.

More than a thousand people became ill due...