Her father said she left home to fulfil a dream and came back dead.
Ana Clara Benevides was 23, a psychology student due to graduate the following April, and she had been putting money aside for the Taylor Swift show she travelled to see in Rio de Janeiro. “She was about to graduate in psychology next April, saving money,” her father, Weiny, told the Brazilian newspaper Folha de S.Paulo. He called her “my only daughter, a happy and intelligent girl”. Then he said: “I have no words to express my pain.”
On Wednesday, 27 December, the cause of her death became official. The Associated Press obtained a copy of a report from Rio’s Forensic Medical Institute, which found that exposure to heat led to cardiorespiratory arrest. The report described a “serious compromise of her lungs and sudden death” from the heat. It also found no preexisting conditions and no substance abuse.
A hot night at Nilton Santos
Benevides reportedly fainted during “Cruel Summer” on the first night of the Eras Tour in Rio, back in November. She died hours later in hospital. Temperatures at the show topped 100 degrees, and the heat felt worse inside Nilton Santos Stadium. Fans accused the organiser, T4F, of failing to give attendees water.
Prosecutors in Rio have opened a criminal investigation into T4F. After reviewing the forensics report, the prosecutor’s office said Wednesday that “representatives of the company organizing the event will be called to testify.”
Mayor Eduardo Paes called her death “unacceptable”. Changes followed for Swift’s next two Rio concerts: the stadium opened an hour earlier, new water distribution points were set up, and more brigades were made available.
Swift’s response
When the news reached her, Swift posted an Instagram story. “I can’t believe I’m writing these words but it is with a shattered heart that I say we lost a fan earlier tonight before my show,” she wrote. “There’s very little information I have other than the fact that she was so incredibly beautiful and far too young.”
She said she could not speak about it from the stage because she felt overwhelmed by grief when she tried. “This is the last thing I ever thought would happen when we decided to bring this tour to Brazil,” she added.
At her last show in Brazil, Swift invited Benevides’ relatives. Family members wore shirts printed with Ana Clara’s photo, posed for pictures with the singer backstage, and watched the concert from a VIP tent.
