.jpg) Estádio Olímpico Nilton Santos, where the incident took place | |
| Date | 17 November 2023 |
|---|---|
| Time | c. 7:30 p.m. BRT (UTC−03:00) |
| Location | Estádio Olímpico Nilton Santos, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil |
| Coordinates | 22°53′36″S 43°17′32″W / 22.8933°S 43.2923°W |
| Type | Cardiac arrest from heat exhaustion |
| Deaths | Ana Clara Benevides Machado (aged 23) |
On 17 November 2023, Brazilian student Ana Clara Benevides Machado died from a cardiac arrest at a concert of the Eras Tour by the American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift at Estádio Olímpico Nilton Santos, Rio de Janeiro, amidst a heat wave and a venue ban on personal water bottles.[note 1] A criminal investigation was opened to determine an official cause of death and a consumer inquiry was launched on the event organizer T4F, a Brazilian entertainment company. Forensic analysis attributed cardiac arrest to heat exhaustion.
Rio de Janeiro recorded an abnormal heat index of 59.3 °C (138.7 °F), as part of a heat wave in Brazil, on the day of the concert, which was attended by over 60,000 people. T4F reportedly prohibited concertgoers from bringing their own food and water into the venue, citing "security concerns", which caused about one thousand dehydrated attendees to faint before and during the show. Swift observed some fainted audience members halfway through the show and ordered her team to dispense water bottles to them.
Benevides queued outside the stadium for around eight hours before stadium personnel allowed entry. She posted pictures and videos of herself to social media and described the drawn-out waiting experience as a "mess". Feeling unwell, she reported to paramedics and fainted shortly after the concert began. She was transported to Salgado Filho Hospital, where she arrived without a pulse; the hospital declared her dead after an hour of failed resuscitation attempts.
The death sparked widespread public condemnation of T4F for poor concert management. Many Swifties claimed that the water bottle ban, exacerbated by the heat wave and the stadium's closed vents, caused attendees to fall sick and led to Benevides' death. Swift publicly grieved for Benevides and postponed her 18 November concert to 20 November, citing "extreme temperatures". Politicians such as the federal minister of justice and public security, Flávio Dino, and the mayor of Rio de Janeiro, Eduardo Paes, announced that precautions would be implemented at future events, with free water stations amongst other obligations. Congresswoman Erika Hilton opined that T4F should be held accountable and voiced for a bill that criminalizes lack of free water at concerts. On 22 November 2023, the government of Brazil passed a federal ordinance mandating free and easily accessible water stations at events henceforth. Critics and journalists considered the death a consequence of climate inaction and urged for relevant governmental initiatives in Brazil. In March 2024, NBC News reported that around 100 municipal and state legislatures in Brazil have enshrined mandatory water access at large-scale events into law, attributing it to "the Taylor Swift effect".
Cite error: There are <ref group=note> tags on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=note}} template (see the help page).