U.S. pop star Taylor Swift canceled her second show in Rio de Janeiro on Saturday due to "extreme temperatures," after a fan died during the performance on Friday in unclear circumstances.
"I'm writing this inside my dressing room at the stadium. The decision to cancel tonight's show was due to the extreme temperatures in Rio. The safety and well-being of my fans, the artists on stage and my team, has to be, and always will be, in the first place," the singer reported on her social networks.
The suspension was announced when thousands of people had already entered the Nilson Nelson stadium, with a capacity of about 60,000 people, and shortly after the mayor of Rio de Janeiro, Eduardo Paes, reported that the concert scheduled for this Saturday will be held next Monday.
The young woman who died during the first concert was identified as Ana Benevides and fainted from the heat, after which she was taken to a hospital, but she arrived lifeless and doctors verified that she died due to cardiorespiratory arrest.
On her Instagram account, Taylor Swift said she was "overwhelmed" and sent her condolences to her follower's family and friends.
"I don't think I'm writing these words, but with a broken heart I have to say that we lost a fan tonight (Friday) before my concert. I can't express how devastated I am by this. I have very little information just the fact that I was incredibly beautiful and too young," the singer said.
Brazil is going through an intense heat wave and Rio de Janeiro recorded temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius in recent days, with a wind chill that reached 59 degrees in some areas of the city.
Numerous attendees of Friday's concert were treated by the stadium's medical services affected by the heat.
At one point during the concert, Taylor Switf interrupted her performance to ask the production to bring water to a person who was asking for it, about 30 meters from the stage.
At another point, the singer threw a bottle of water at fans from the stage, according to images reproduced on social media.
After the young woman's death was confirmed, numerous followers of the singer protested on social networks over the ban on entering the stadium where the concert was held with bottles of water.
On Saturday, after the death of the young woman, the Brazilian government announced an investigation into the lack of water at concerts and other public shows, which in some cities of the country responds to security measures at large events.
The government's decision also repealed those rules and determined that water should be distributed at these shows and free of charge.