Taylor Swift concert organizer apologizes after Rio fan death

Fans of US singer Taylor Swift cool off as they queue outside the Nilton Santos Olympic Stadium before Swift’s concert, “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour,” amid a heat wave in Rio de Janeiro on Nov. 18, 2023. American superstar Taylor Swift on Saturday was mourning the death of a 23-year-old fan during her first show in Brazil before a crowd of 60,000. The death occurred as much of central and southeastern Brazil has been suffering an unusually oppressive springtime heat wave. TERCIO TEIXEIRA / AFP

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil—The chief executive of the company organizing Taylor Swift’s tour dates in Brazil apologized Thursday, Nov. 23, after a fan died in a searing heat wave during the pop superstar’s Rio de Janeiro show.

Organizers have faced criticism after fans said they were forbidden to enter the stadium with water bottles at the concert last Friday, despite a heat index that hit 59 degrees Celsius (138 Fahrenheit) in the Brazilian beach city that day.

A 23-year-old fan in the sold-out crowd of 60,000 people died.

“We recognize we could have taken alternative measures in addition to all those we implemented, such as providing shade in external areas, changing the time of the concerts and emphasizing that fans could enter the stadium with disposable water cups,” Serafim Abreu, head of Time for Fun, said in a video posted on social media.

“I want to apologize to all those who didn’t have the best possible experience,” he added, sending his “most sincere condolences” to the late fan’s family.

The company said the young woman was quickly treated by emergency workers after falling ill, then transferred to the hospital about an hour later.

A preliminary autopsy found she had a lung hemorrhage and three heart attacks, according to newspaper O Globo.

Swift said Saturday she was “devastated” by the death, and postponed the concert scheduled for that night to Monday.

“We know that climate change means these episodes will be more and more frequent,” Abreu said.

“The entire concert industry has to rethink how it operates in the face of this new reality.”

Swift’s “Eras Tour” continues this week in Brazil, with concerts scheduled for Friday, Saturday and Sunday in Sao Paulo.