The world’s most famous statue of Jesus Christ, the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, welcomed superstar Taylor Swift to town ahead of her first set of concerts to a massive audience in Brazil.
A projection on the monument features a T-shirt design based on one worn by the pop star in her ‘You Belong With Me’ music video. It was created by Gabriel Dadam, the art director of one of the singer’s fan clubs.
On Friday Taylor responded to the recognition as she performed the Evermore subset of her Eras Tour. ‘I just want to start off by saying that I feel completely unworthy of this honor but it is sort of the nicest thing anyone’s ever done for me.’
She added, ‘And I say that because I heard that part of why this was able to happen is because so many of you donated food and water and that makes me so incredibly proud. I’m so proud of you. Thank you so much for everything that you do, including showing up tonight and being so nice to us!’
The illumination was funded by the Christ the Redeemer Sanctuary located at the foot of the sculpture and was the result of a fan campaign and charity drive.
Brazil welcomed Taylor Swift ahead of her Eras Tour shows by lighting up the Christ the Redeemer statue
Reaction: On Friday Taylor responded to the recognition, calling it ‘the nicest thing anyone’s ever done for me’
The 98-foot tall Rio de Janeiro landmark was lit up on Thursday night to mark the singer’s arrival prior to her Friday show
In addition to the name to the words Welcome to Brazil, the country’s various state names were also projected on to the statue
The iconic statue, known for its spread-open arms, donned a white, projected ‘Welcome to Brazil’ T-shirt to greet the singer
After performing in the United States, Mexico and Argentina, Swift is bringing her Eras Tour to Brazil for concerts that have been a long time coming after the pandemic caused the artist to cancel her previous dates
A Swiftie poses in front of arguably Brazil’s most famous landmark
The Christ the Redeemer Archdiocesan Sanctuary, which manages the monument, accepted their request, asking for donations from the Swifties in return
Swift is set to perform to tens of thousands of fans over three shows in Rio for the first time this week, with three more scheduled for the following weekend in Sao Paulo.
Father Omar Raposo, the church’s rector, agreed to pay for the projection if fans collected 20,000 units of water and panettone to donate to the needy by 9pm.
‘We did it Swifties!’ Father Omar said in an Instagram post, which featured helicopter footage of the 98ft statue all lit up.
‘You were able to show the love to Taylor and others,’ he added. ‘Thank you very much to everyone who donated! May these be wonderful days!’
The initiative was undertaken to coincide with the Catholic Church celebration of the World Day of the Poor, which takes place on November 19.
In addition, to the statue, Rio’s giant ferris wheel in the city’s Port Zone section will be lit up with lyrics from Swift hits all weekend, reports Globo TV.
On Thursday, as Swift touched down in Brazil, the country’s military police were deployed to guard the Shake it Off singer’s hotel, the Hotel Fasano. A total of 1,000 officers are expected to police the area around Swift’s concerts.
Rio’s Mayor Eduardo Paes tweeted: ”Swifties’ cariocas… are you ready for it?’ in a reference to one of Swift’s hits.
The campaign was sparked by an image of the iconic landmark wearing the Swift T-shirt created by publicist Leonardo Ulths De Carvalho, 21.
His original design simply photoshopped the T-shirt worn by Swift in her 2008 video onto the statue.
The garment, which said ‘Junior Jewels’ became a cult item amongst fans, especially after the video earned her an MTV award for Best Female Video and her acceptance speech was interrupted by Kanye West.
However, in the reworked design on Christ the Redeemer, the shirt features the phrase ‘Welcome to Brasil’ with the names of all the country’s states.
Swift was due to land in Brazil on Thursday afternoon to play the first of her six shows in the country as part of the Latin America leg of her Eras Tour
The two have caused a social media storm since going public with their relationship, spurred on by recent footage of Swift running up to plant a kiss on the athlete after finishing up her Saturday show in Buenos Aires
While tickets in the US spiraled to more than $1,600 on some resale sites, Vivid Seats was offering tickets to concerts in Brazil for just $91
‘It doesn’t seem real,’ Ulths De Carvalho told USA Today, ‘It’s something we’ve been wishing for a long, long time. It’s finally happening, and it’s crazy.’
The projection began at 7pm, hours after Swift was due to land in Brazil as she continues the Latin America leg of her world tour.
She has three shows this weekend at the Estádio Olímpico Nilton Santos in Rio de Janeiro before heading to Sao Paolo.
Latin American fans have been making the most of comparatively cheap tickets to see the ‘Shake it Off’ singer live.
While tickets in the US spiraled to more than $1,600 on some resale sites, Vivid Seats was offering tickets to concerts in Brazil for just $91.
The design for the projection was based on a T-shirt worn by Swift in her 2008 music video for You Belong With Me
Father Omar, rector of Christ the Redeemer Sanctuary, confirmed the church would pay for the illumination which began at 7pm on Thursday
Rio di Janeiro Mayor Eduardo Paes also tweeted about the projection and welcomed Swift to the country
Swift arrives in Brazil fresh from her shows in Argentina, where she was supported by her new beau Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce.
The two have caused a social media storm since going public with their relationship, spurred on by recent footage of Swift running up to plant a kiss on the athlete after finishing up her Saturday show in Buenos Aires.
The clip went even more viral thanks to Swift’s decision to change the lyrics to her hit ‘Karma’ to include a reference to her new lover.
The two have finally gone public with their relationship two months after rumors began to swirl when the 13-time Grammy winner was spotted cheering on Kelce at his game at the Arrowhead Stadium.
It is understood she will be flying back to the US for Thanksgiving, before returning to Brazil for the Sao Paolo shows on November 24, according to Page Six.
From Sao Paolo she will head to Tokyo and Singapore before commencing the European leg to the Eras Tour.