Taylor Swift fan Ana Benevides' father speaks out: ‘If negligence is confirmed, someone will be punished…’
Father of the Taylor Swift fan, Ana Benevides who died on Friday, November 17, 2023, has spoken out over the death of his ‘only daughter.’ Read his statement below.
Father of the Taylor Swift fan who died on Friday, November 17, 2023, has spoken out over the death of his ‘only daughter.’
Ana Clara Benevides, 23, died ahead of Taylor Swift's Eras Tour performance at the Estádio Olímpico Nilton Santos in Rio de Janeiro. She is said to have collapsed due to high temperature. Reports claim she went into a cardiac arrest-however, the cause of death is yet to be revealed.
Ana's father, Weiny Machado,53, who spoke to Folha de São Paulo newspaper, 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.”
Additionally, he expressed wanting a concise investigation into the events that unfolded before his daughter's passing. “I want it to be found out whether they were in fact prohibited from bringing water, whether there was negligence in providing assistance.”
“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.”
Prior to Taylor's postponement of her Saturday night concert crediting the rising temperatures in Rio, the organisers of the concerts, T4F aka Time For Fun, released a statement about Ana's death.
The entertainment company, which has faced major backlash over not allowing fans to bring water into the stadium, announced the adoption of new measures.
“Given the forecast of an increase in the heat wave in the city, we inform you that we are reinforcing the special action plan carried out for the first day of the show, especially the provision of free water in the queues and at all accesses and entrances to the stadium and inside. In this way, new free water distribution points will be available to the public during the event,” they began.
"Entry into the stadium with sealed glasses of water and sealed processed food will also be permitted, with no limitation on items per person. We clarify that the requirement for items to be sealed follows safety recommendations."
"We also emphasise that the prohibition of bottles of water entering stadiums is a requirement made by public bodies and that we do not sell drinks and food, this being the responsibility of the stadium administration," they concluded.