Taylor Swift invites the family of Ana Clara Benevides Machado – the 23-year-old Swiftie who tragically died before the Rio show – to her Eras Tour performance in Sao Paolo

• Ana Clara Benevides Machado, 23, suddenly fell ill before Swift’s Rio de Janeiro show earlier this month and died.
• She suffered cardiac arrest amid a massive heatwave with temperatures said to be 59.3 Celsius or 138.7 Fahrenheit
• Swift performed in Sao Paolo, Brazil on Sunday, with the 33-year-old singer inviting Machado’s family and friends to the show 

Just days after the tragic death of 23-year-old Ana Clara Benevides Machado before a Taylor Swift concert in Rio de Janeiro, the singer invited her family and friends to join her at the Sao Paolo performance.

Machado, 23, suddenly fell ill before Swift’s Rio de Janeiro show earlier this month and tragically passed away on November 17.

She suffered cardiac arrest amid a massive heatwave with temperatures said to be 59.3 Celcius or 138.7 Fahrenheit, with the show’s promoters also prohibiting fans from bringing their own food and water into the venue. 

Swift postponed another Rio show after the fan’s death, with organizers announcing widespread changes in shows to follow

The singer returned to Brazil on Sunday, performing in Sao Paolo, with Swift bringing the family and friends of Machado with, posing for photos with them as well.

Invited: Just days after the tragic death of 23-year-old Ana Clara Benevides Machado before a Taylor Swift concert in Rio de Janeiro, the singer invited her family and friends to join her at the Sao Paolo performance

https://www.instagram.com/p/C0IXve3N7Z4/

A post shared by Folha de S.Paulo (@folhadespaulo)

Video from the X account @swifferupdates showed the family and friends of the late fan at the show, all of whom were wearing white t-shirts with Machado’s face on it.

They all met with Swift after the show and posed for a group shot with the singer as well. 

Swift shared a hand-written note expressing her sorrow over the loss of Machado last week on her Instagram story.

‘I can’t believe I’m writing these words, but it’s with a shattered heart that I say we lost a fan earlier tonight before my show,’ Swift began.

‘I can’t even tell you how devastated I am by this. There’s very little information I have other than the fact she was so incredibly beautiful and far too young,’ Swift said.

She added, ‘I’m not going to be able to speak about this from the 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 heart goes out to her family and friends,’ Swift continud.

She concluded by stating, ‘This is the last thing I ever thought would happen when we decided to bring this tour to Brazil.’

Family and friends: Video from the X account @swifferupdates showed the family and friends of the late fan at the show, all of whom were wearing white t-shirts with Machado’s face on it

Pics: They all met with Swift after the show and posed for a group shot with the singer as well

Family and friends: The family and friends of Ana Clara Benevides Machado are seen at Taylor Swift’s Sao Paolo concert

Too young: ‘I can’t even tell you how devastated I am by this. There’s very little information I have other than the fact she was so incredibly beautiful and far too young,’ Swift said

The decision by concert organizers T4F to ban fans from bringing water bottles to the show resulted in over 1,000 fans of the 60,000 in attendance to faint before and during the show.

When Machado wasn’t feeling well, she went to the paradmedics and fainted right before the show got under way. 

She was taken to a first aid center before being transferred to Salgado Filho Hospital, but it was reported that she arrived to the hospital without a pulse.

Machado was prounounced dead after more than an hour of resusitation attempts had failed.

Benevides’ father Weiny Machado, 53, told the Brazilian newspaper Folha de S.Paulo he wants the promoters to clarify whether concertgoers were prohibited from bringing water into the show Friday.

‘I want it to be found out whether they were in fact prohibited from bringing water, whether there was negligence in providing assistance,’ Machado told the paper. ‘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 fulfill a dream and came back dead.’

Ana’s cousin Estela Benevides told the paper that Ana fainted ahead of her death on Friday while she was in the front row of the Estádio Nilton Santos in Rio de Janeiro amid triple-digit temperatures to see Swift, 33, perform as part of her Eras Tour.

Pronounced dead: Machado was prounounced dead after more than an hour of resusitation attempts had failed

Eras: Ana’s cousin Estela Benevides told the paper that Ana fainted ahead of her death on Friday while she was in the front row of the Estádio Nilton Santos in Rio de Janeiro amid triple-digit temperatures to see Swift, 33, perform as part of her Eras Tour

Ana fainted while she was in the front row for Taylor’s show and was ‘resuscitated at the stadium for about 40 minutes’ before suffering a second cardiac arrest while on the way to a hospital, the paper reported.

Ana died shortly after arriving at a local hospital, with the paper reporting the heat index at the stadium ‘reached 60C’ – 140F – and firefighters reportedly ‘counted a thousand faintings during the event.’

Ana’s cousin Gabriela Benevides told the paper that they are concerned that they ‘will not have the resources’ to have Ana’s body brought back to them. 

Fans filled social media with claims they had been prohibited from bringing water bottles into the stadium.

And in multiple fan clips posted online over the weekend, Swift could be seen stopping her show several times to ask for water on behalf of her fans, who were chanting for refreshments at one point.

A clip also showed Swift struggling for breath after performing her hit Bejeweled.

Swift said in her announcement on Instagram Saturday that she was cancelling her second scheduled gig at the stadium.

‘I’m writing this from my dressing room in the stadium,’ Swift said. ‘The decision has been made to postpone tonight’s show due to the extreme temperatures in Rio. The safety and well-being of my fans, fellow performers and crew always has to come first.’

Canceled: Swift said in her announcement on Instagram Saturday that she was cancelling her second scheduled gig at the stadium

Dressing room: ‘I’m writing this from my dressing room in the stadium,’ Swift said. ‘The decision has been made to postpone tonight’s show due to the extreme temperatures in Rio. The safety and well-being of my fans, fellow performers and crew always has to come first’

The untimely death also lead to the concert organizer, Time For Fun, to enact a, ‘special action plan’ according to The Mirror.

‘Given the forecast of an increase in the heat wave in the city, 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,’ the company said. ‘In this way, 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.’

The company continued: ‘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, this being the responsibility of the stadium administration.’

The company said it had beefed up resources amid the heavily-attended shows taking place during the sweltering heatwave.

Source: Read Full Article