Taylor Swift meets family of deceased fan at Sao Paulo concert

The family of 23-year-old Ana Clara Benevides, who died at Taylor Swift’s first Rio concert, met with the singer at her Sao Paulo show.

The family of Ana Clara Benevides, the 23-year-old fan who tragically passed away at Taylor Swift’s concert in Rio de Janeiro on Novemebr 17 with the pop star at her Sao Paulo concert on November 26. Photo: Twitter.

The family of Ana Clara Benevides, the 23-year-old fan who tragically passed away at Taylor Swift’s concert in Rio de Janeiro, was seen at Swift’s final show in Sao Paulo, Brazil over the weekend.

A photo that surfaced on social media shows the Benevides family wearing T-shirts bearing Ana’s face, posing with Swift backstage.

The family of Ana Clara Benevides meet Taylor Swift at her Sao Paulo concert on November 26. Photo: Twitter.

It remains unclear if they were personally invited by Swift’s team, though it is known that Swift’s team reached out to them following the tragedy.

Other footage from the concert shows the family in a VIP section of the stadium to watch the show:

🏟️| The family of Ana Clara Benevides, is in attendance tonight! #SaoPauloTSTheErasTourpic.twitter.com/NJX7DE5gBw

— Taylor Swift Updates 🩵 (@swifferupdates) November 26, 2023

Ana Clara, a psychology major and avid Taylor Swift fan, suffered a fatal cardiac arrest before the concert began in Rio de Janeiro on November 17.

Despite efforts to resuscitate her at the stadium and during transport to the hospital, she was declared dead shortly after suffering a second cardiac arrest.

Ana Clara Benevides, 23, died during a sweltering Taylor Swift performance in Rio de Janeiro. Picture: Instagram

Swift, visibly shaken by the incident, expressed her deep sorrow on Instagram, stating, “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 added that she was overwhelmed by grief and unable to speak about it on stage.

Swift and her fans have battled extreme weather conditions during her South American shows. Picture: Instagram

In a heart-wrenching statement, Ana’s father, Weiny Machado, in a heart-wrenching statement, mourned the loss of his only daughter, a bright and happy young woman on the cusp of graduating.

“I lost my only daughter, a happy and intelligent girl. She was about to graduate in psychology next April, saving money,” Weiny Machado, 53 told Brazilian newspaper Folha de S.Paulo.

Swift’s concerts have come amid a heatwave in Rio. Picture: TEIXEIRA / AFP

He called for an investigation into claims that fans were prohibited from bringing water into the Rio stadium during Brazil’s intense heatwave.

Swift’s concerts in Brazil were marred by the heatwave, with reports of the singer and her team, along with stadium staff, frantically distributing water to dehydrated fans.

The severity of the conditions led Swift to postpone her next show in Rio, prioritising the safety and wellbeing of her fans, crew, and fellow performers.

Swift concluded her South American tour in Sao Paulo on Sunday, before taking a two-month break ahead of her performances in Japan, and Australia in February.