Father of fan who died before Taylor Swift concert breaks silence
Topics: Music, Taylor Swift, World News, Celebrity
Rhianna Benson
Featured Image Credit: TV Globo/Marcelo Endelli/TAS23/Getty Images for TAS Rights Management
Topics: Music, Taylor Swift, World News, Celebrity
The dad of the Taylor Swift fan who died before attending her Rio de Janeiro concert has spoken out.
Swift announced that her show which had been due to take place in the Brazilian city last night (18 November) had been postponed 'due to the extreme temperatures in Rio'.
The announcement comes following the death of a fan before her Eras Tour concert at the Estádio Olímpico Nilton Santos in Rio on Friday (17 November).
Temperatures were reported to have reached to over 100 degrees Fahrenheit, or around 37C.
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Brazilian newspaper Folha de São Paulo later named the fan as Ana Clara Benevides Machado.
She was just 23 years old when she reportedly fainted and suffered a cardiac arrest. Paramedics attended to her at the scene, but sadly she passed away an hour after reaching the hospital.
Her cause of death has not yet been announced.
Swift subsequently took to Instagram to say she was 'overwhelmed by grief' following the tragedy.
She said: "I can’t believe I’m writing these words but it is with 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.
"There’s very little information I have, other than the fact that she was so incredibly beautiful and far too young."
The singer added: "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.
"I want to say now I feel this loss deeply and my broken heart goes out to her family and friends. This is the last thing I thought would happen when we decided to bring this tour to Brazil."
And today (19 November), the fan's father has given a heartbreaking interview on his daughter's death, claiming she 'left for a dream and came back dead'.
Speaking to Folha de São Paulo, 53-year-old Weiny Machado referred to Ana as 'happy and intelligent'.
He said: "I lost my only daughter, a happy and intelligent girl. She was about to graduate in Psychology next April, saving money.
"I have no words to express my pain. She left home to fulfil a dream and came back dead."
Weiny added that he would like to see a concise investigation carried out into what exactly happened to his daughter on the evening of her death.
"I want it to be found out whether they were in fact prohibited from bringing water, whether there was negligence in providing assistance," he said.
"I know that the singer was handing out water to her fans, and that is absurd for an event of this size.
"Nothing will bring my daughter back, but I hope that, if negligence is confirmed, someone will be punished, so that this doesn't happen to anyone else."