As a fan tragically passed away during Taylor Swift’s concert in Brazil on Friday, the country’s government has now swiftly passed a law to ensure safety at the concerts going forward.
Flávio Dino, the Minister of Justice and Public Security, reported that from today onwards, “as determined by the Consumer Secretariat of the Ministry of Justice”, people would be allowed to take water bottles, in suitable material, into shows for personal use.,
Furthermore, the minister announced that companies running shows with high heat exposure “must provide free drinking water in easily accessible ‘hydration islands’”.
The measure, which will take effect immediately, comes as a fan passed away while attending Taylor’s Eras Tour concert in Rio de Janiero.
Ana Clara Benevides was a 23-year-old psychology student who fainted and was given CPR for 40 minutes before being transported to hospital, where she suffered a second cardiac arrest and sadly passed away. The fan was in the front row at the Estádio Nilton Santos on November 17, where fans had been prohibited from bringing their own water.
As news of the tragedy spread, fans have called for the cancellation of Taylor’s Saturday and Sunday shows at the venue out of concern for the dangerous conditions.
This comes after Taylor was forced to cancel a show in Buenos Aires on November 10 due to “truly chaotic” weather conditions. The star rescheduled the performance for November 12 instead because “I’m never going to endanger my fans”.
The 33-year-old penned a heartfelt tribute to Ana upon the news of her death, explaining on her 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.”
“I can't even tell you how devastated I am by this”, she continued. “There's very little information I have other than the fact that she was so incredibly beautiful and far too young.”
“I'm not going to be able to speak about this from stage because I feel overwhelmed by grief when I even try to talk about it”, she expressed. “I want to say now I feel this loss deeply and my broken heart goes out to her family and friends.”
She added: “This is the last thing I ever thought would happen when we decided to bring this tour to Brazil.”
Taylor could be seen throwing water bottles to thirsty fans in the audience of the Rio concert, where fans were reportedly prohibited from bringing water bottles into the stadium.
The heat index at the venue reached 140 degrees Fahrenheit, according to Folha de S. Paulo.