The father of a young Taylor Swift fan who died after falling sick at the singer’s recent Brazil show has revealed the heartbreak he has suffered following the tragedy.
Ana Clara Benevides, 23, died from a cardiac arrest at a hospital in Rio de Janeiro on Friday (17 November), after she became unwell ahead of Swift’s first Eras Tour show at the Nilton Santos stadium.
“I lost my only daughter, a happy, intelligent girl,” Ana’s father Weiny Machado told Brazilian newspaperFolha de S Paulo on Saturday (18 November), “She was about to graduate in psychology next April, saving money.”
Calling it his daughter’s “dream” to watch Swift perform live, Machado said: “She left home to fulfill a dream and came back dead.”
The grieving father also called for an investigation into Ana’s death, asking the show’s organisers to confirm whether concertgoers were banned from bringing water bottles into the sweltering venue amid a heatwave in Brazil.
“I want it to be found out whether they were, in fact, prohibited from bringing water, whether there was negligence in providing assistance,” Machado, who was reportedly on his way to Rio de Janeiro to bring Ana’s body home, said.
Fan videos shared from the concert showed members of the audience chanting for water, as the “feels like” temperature inside the stadium reportedly rose to 60C. Around 1,000 people fainted at the show, Folha reported, according to unofficial estimates.
Swift, who said she was “devastated” by the news of Ana’s death, was seen repeatedly asking staff members at the Nilton Santos stadium to distribute bottles of water among the 60,000-strong crowd.
“Nothing will bring my daughter back,” Machado said. “But I hope that, if negligence is confirmed, someone will be punished so that this doesn’t happen to anyone else.”
The Independent has contacted representatives for Swift and event organisers T4F for comment.
T4F previously expressed their “sincere condolences” to Ana’s family and friends in a statement on Saturday, adding that she “felt unwell and was promptly attended to by the team of firefighters and paramedics” at the venue before being transferred to the Salgado Filho Hospital.
In a second statement, T4F announced that water stations would be provided at the Nilton Santos stadium for the second show that night.
However, the performance was ultimately postponed “due to the extreme temperatures in Rio”, Swift announced in a statement on Instagram.
Mourning Ana’s death in an emotional social media tribute, the “Anti-Hero” singer said “I can’t even tell you how devastated I am by this.”
She added: “I can’t believe that I’m writing these words, but it is with a shattered heart that I say we lost a fan earlier tonight before my show.
“There’s very little information I have other than the fact that she was so incredibly beautiful and far too young.
“I’m not going to be able to speak about the from stage because I feel overwhelmed by grief when I even try to talk about it.
“I want to say now I feel this loss deeply and my broken heart goes out to her family and friends.”
News of Ana’s passing was first reported by Folha, citing a confirmation from her cousin Estela Benevides.
