Brazilian police have launched an investigation into Time For Fun, the company that organized Taylor Swift’s shows in Rio de Janiero, following the death of a fan amid sweltering temperatures.
A spokesperson for the Civil Police Department of Rio de Janeiro said that its consumer delegations department had opened an inquiry into ‘the crime of endangering the life and health’ of concertgoers.
‘Event organizers will be called to testify, and other steps are underway to investigate the facts,’ the statement read.
Ana Clara Benevides Machado, 23, lost consciousness at the show on November 17 and was taken to a local hospital, where she was pronounced dead. Her cousin told local news outlets that she was believed to have suffered cardiac arrest.
Police say the investigation is not connected to Machado’s death.
Ana Clara Benevides Machado, 23, was treated on-site by medical staff before being rushed to the hospital after fainting at Taylor Swift’s Friday night show in Rio de Janiero
Taylor Swift fans waited for the doors of Nilton Santos Olympic stadium to open for her Eras Tour concert amid a heat wave in Rio de Janeiro on Saturday before the show was called off
Fans were hosed down outside the arena amid sweltering temperatures
The show was held amid a record-breaking heat wave, as temperatures in the stadium skyrocketed to 138 degrees Fahrenheit.
Swift said in an Instagram story after the show that she was ‘overwhelmed by grief’ over the young fan’s death.
The pop star appeared to be struggling to breathe during the same concert.
In a TikTok video, she turned away from the audience and hurriedly took several gasps of air before starting the next song.
Fans took to social media, calling on T4F to make sure there was access to water and trending the hashtag ‘T4F WE DEMAND RESPECT.’
The company issued a statement the day after Machado’s death, sending condolences to her family and friends.
‘Yesterday night, Ana Clara felt unwell and was assisted by a team of emergency workers and paramedics, being taken to a medical center at Nilton Santos Olympic Stadium so the first aid protocol could be applied,’ they wrote.
‘Given the situation, the medical team opted to transfer her to Salgado Filho Hospital. After nearly an hour of emergency assistance, she regrettably died.’
The company announced that fans would be able to enter the next two shows with water bottles and some sealed foods.
Despite the measures, Saturday’s performance was postponed.
Benevides had taken her first-ever flight to see her favorite musician before her death
Swift posted a message to social media after Saturday’s concert was called off
Before the concert, Machado was seen wearing a Taylor Swift t-shirt and signature ‘Swiftie’ friendship bracelets
After the 23-year-old’s death, fans started a change.org petition demanding the provision of free water at events
Swift posted a message from her dressing room reading, in part: ‘The safety and well-being of my fans, fellow performers, and crew has to and always will come first.’
T4F is the third-largest live entertainment company in Latin America. Sweeping changes were implemented in the wake of Machado’s death.
‘Given the forecast of an increase in the heat wave in the city of Rio de Janeiro, 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 wrote in a statement.
‘New free water distribution points will be available to the public during the event.
‘Entry to the stadium with sealed glasses of water and sealed processed food will also be permitted, with no limitation on items per person.’
The owner of the company, 71-year-old Fernando Luiz Alterio, worked in the financial sector before dipping into music and entertainment.
He co-founded T4F in 1987 under the name CIE Brasil. The company has hosted performers like Madonna, Britney Spears and Coldplay, and is responsible for the Lollapalooza and Primavera Sound festivals.
Alterio is also the boyfriend of actress Mônica Martelli, who is 16 years younger than him.
One fan cools off with a bottle of water amid the heat wave
Fans suffered from high temperatures as they waited for Saturday’s show
The owner of T4F, 71-year-old Fernando Luiz Alterio, has an extensive background in the music and entertainment industry
Machado had taken her first flight ever to travel from the country’s center-west region to see her favorite musician.
She created a WhatsApp group to keep her family updated, sending photos and videos along the way.
On her way to Rio, Benevides sent a video to family members, telling them: ‘Mom, look at the plane, it’s moving. Mom, I´m on the plane. My God in heaven! I’m happy!’
Before the concert, she posted a video of herself on Instagram clad in a Taylor Swift t-shirt and signature ‘Swiftie’ friendship bracelets.
She told her followers while fanning her face that she´d arrived at 11am – the show began around 7.30pm – and was ‘still in the mess.’
Machado’s official cause of death has yet to be determined, but Swift has claimed that the 23-year-old passed away before the show began.
Social media videos captured the chaos inside the stadium as fans resisted succumbing to the oppressive heat.
Swift’s public relations chief Tree Paine was seen handing a weary-looking fan water as security guards held her steady.
During the show, Swift took matters into her own hands and tossed water bottles into the crowd from the stage.
One fan claimed that she suffered second-degree burns after falling onto the metal flooring in the pit
She accompanied the post with a photo of her bandaged legs
Other fans also claimed to have needed medical attention.
‘I got second degree burns in both my legs and my right arm from falling on top of the metal floor in the pit around the stage,’ one fan wrote before posting a photo of her bandaged legs.
Brazilian fans launched a petition urging officials to provide free water at every event in the country. It garnered over 340,000 signatures.
The Latin American leg of the Eras Tour kicked off in Mexico City in August. Those shows were followed by three in Buenos Aires and three more in Rio de Janiero.
Swift is scheduled to play in São Paulo at the end of the week before moving on to Tokyo.
The Brazilian concert series has been marred with tragedy, as another young fan, Gabriel Milhomem Santos, was killed hours before Sunday’s performance.
The 25-year-old was reportedly stabbed to death at Copacabana Beach.