Fans Suffered From “Second-Degree Burns” At Taylor Swift’s Show Where Conditions Were “Inhumane”
Brazil’s current heatwave has hit Taylor Swift’s concert, prompting severe injuries and even one death among concertgoers.
New footage and pictures have emerged from Taylor’s show which took place on Friday (November 17) at the Estadio Olímpico Nilton Santos stadium in Rio de Janeiro, this time exposing fans suffering from second-degree burns.
Metal flooring had been reportedly laid out across the stadium, severely injuring concertgoers whose skin came in close contact with the material.
Taking to X (formerly known as Twitter), a concertgoer wrote: “I went to the Nilton Santos Stadium for the Taylor Swift concert and left with 3 second-degree burns.
Fans recently shared their second-degree burns on social media after attending Taylor Swift’s concert in Brazil which ended in tragedy
Image credits: Buda Mendes/Getty Images
“The metal plates that covered the floor of the premium track turned into a HOT PLATE at 40°C.”
A separate individual shared on social media a picture of burn marks on their legs, describing the experience as “inhumane” inside the stadium.
They recalled: “My friends and I were at the front and they let a lot of people pile up behind us, pushing each other.
“When they opened the entrance, I was pushed and fell to the ground HOT.
“I got two second-degree burns that wouldn’t stop burning in the sun.”
Image credits: InfoSwiftBrasil
As the Swiftie claimed, they were “crying in pain” due to the severe burns and ended up going to the stadium’s medical center twice for treatment.
Authorities had reportedly warned of the danger to life as it recorded numbers on its heat index, which combines temperature and humidity, that reached 59.3°C (138.7°F) on Friday followed by 59.7°C (139.5°F) on Saturday (November 18), in Rio.
As the Grammy-award-winning artist had performed for hours in nearly 100°F heat (approximately 38°C), Taylor went on to inform her fans that she was postponing her Saturday concert because the “safety and well-being of my fans, fellow performers, and crew had to and always will come first.”
During the concert, the Anti Hero hitmaker paused her “Evermore” segment, and reportedly told the venue staff: “There are people that need water right here, maybe 30, 35, 40 feet back.”
Another clip circulating showed concertgoers shouting: “Water, water, water,” to which the singer replied: “We don’t need to chant, it’s totally fine.”
Taylor continued: “We just need to get water to them.
“Does anyone here have water?”
“I got two second-degree burns that wouldn’t stop burning in the sun,” a fan shared on social media
Image credits: InfoSwiftBrasil
this is disgusting. they put metal on the floor knowing the temperature in rio and people got SECOND GRADE BURNS pic.twitter.com/cQSW49xjSq
— head taybrina⸆⸉ 樂★ era 🩰 (@cowboylikeTBDR) November 19, 2023
The footage of Swifties and the singer struggling during the concert follows the tragic reports published by Brazilian newspaper Fohla De Sao Paolo that 23-year-old Ana Clara Benevides died after fainting, before experiencing a cardiac arrest while she was at the stadium.
Her cousin, Estela Benevides, claimed that Ana was transported to the Salgado Filho Municipal Hospital, where she died of cardiorespiratory arrest.
Anna had passed away moments before Taylor had taken to the stage, as the concert began at around 7:30 PM local time, as per BBC News.
Ana’s final moments had been recorded for social media, with various posts expressing her excitement at finally having the chance to see Taylor.
Image credits: victorrinaldi
@T4F This was the worst experience of my life, I return to my state without seeing @taylorswift13 and full of bruises and burns! #TheErasTourRio #TheErasTour taylor nation pic.twitter.com/IWuOq87cG7
— Victor Rinaldi (@victorrinaldi) November 20, 2023
The Bad Blood singer had been reportedly unaware of Ana’s death while she started her performance, but has since issued a statement on Instagram.
She wrote: “I can’t even tell you how devastated I am by this.
“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.”
She went on to mention that she would not be talking about the death on stage that evening.
Taylor added: “I want to say now I feel this loss deeply and my broken heart goes out to her family and friends.”
The music star revealed that it was the “last thing I thought would happen when we decided to bring this tour to Brazil.”
“The metal plates that covered the floor of the premium track turned into a HOT PLATE at 40°C,” a concertgoer wrote
Image credits: autoranya
HEY, @taylornation13, I got second degree burns in both my legs and my right arm due to falling on top of the metal floor in the pit around the stage. With the high temperatures, the floor became a huge hazard and many other people got terribly burned by it.
— anastasia ✶ QUEDA DAS SOMBRAS NA AMAZON (@autoranya) November 19, 2023
Ana’s father, Weiny Machado, has since spoken out, as he called for answers about the circumstances that led to his daughter’s tragic death.
He told the Folha de São Paulo newspaper: “I lost my only daughter, a happy and intelligent girl.
“She was about to graduate in Psychology next April.
“I want it to be found out whether they were in fact prohibited from bringing water, whether there was negligence in providing assistance.”
The grieving dad added: “I know that the singer was handing out water to her fans, and that is absurd for an event of this size.
“Nothing will bring my daughter back, but I hope that, if negligence is confirmed, someone will be punished, so that this doesn’t happen to anyone else.”
Many people agreed that the concert should’ve “never happened”
Just to clarify, the temperature in Rio last weekend wasn't over 50º C, it was a little bit under 40º, reaching the year's maximum of 42º. The feels-like temperature was the one near 60º. Yes, still pretty high, though.
yea, someone said it was 59 degrees and even my American brain thought that was complete BS.
Load More Replies... As a fan of Taylor, I tend to follow the news relating to the 'Eras Tour' and other such events and I'm so devastated at what happened. I think the article briefly mentioned how the concert goers weren't permitted to bring water into the stadium, and the stadium itself had a very limited supply. The stadium has thankfully changed it's water rules for upcoming concerts, but too little, too late. I feel for Taylor, definitely the venue's fault, she did what she could, throwing water bottles to fans and such, and I also saw a video of her doing breathing techniques taught in theater school so as not to pass out. She must feel awful about the whole thing, at Rio night 2 (postponed a day later) she played a song called 'Bigger than the whole sky' as a tribute to Ana, a fan who died from heat exhaustion, and on top of that, there are people sending her horrible hate messages for postponing the concert. Not trying to downplay the suffering of the concertgoers just to talk about Taylor. Thanks for coming to my TedTalk
Just to clarify, the temperature in Rio last weekend wasn't over 50º C, it was a little bit under 40º, reaching the year's maximum of 42º. The feels-like temperature was the one near 60º. Yes, still pretty high, though.
yea, someone said it was 59 degrees and even my American brain thought that was complete BS.
Load More Replies... As a fan of Taylor, I tend to follow the news relating to the 'Eras Tour' and other such events and I'm so devastated at what happened. I think the article briefly mentioned how the concert goers weren't permitted to bring water into the stadium, and the stadium itself had a very limited supply. The stadium has thankfully changed it's water rules for upcoming concerts, but too little, too late. I feel for Taylor, definitely the venue's fault, she did what she could, throwing water bottles to fans and such, and I also saw a video of her doing breathing techniques taught in theater school so as not to pass out. She must feel awful about the whole thing, at Rio night 2 (postponed a day later) she played a song called 'Bigger than the whole sky' as a tribute to Ana, a fan who died from heat exhaustion, and on top of that, there are people sending her horrible hate messages for postponing the concert. Not trying to downplay the suffering of the concertgoers just to talk about Taylor. Thanks for coming to my TedTalk
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