الكاتب: kafej

The death of a Brazilian woman who died after passing out during a Taylor Swift gig was caused by heat exhaustion, authorities have said.

Ana Clara Benevides, 23, fell ill as Swift performed Cruel Summer, the second song of the night at the gig in Rio de Janeiro in November. She died in hospital just hours later.

Temperatures in the city that day had reached about 40C (105F) and footage of the concert showed Swift interrupting the performance to ask for fans to be given water. It was the first of three gigs in Rio as part of The Eras Tour, with the star postponing the second due to the extreme heat.

Now, a medical report has confirmed Ms Benevides suffered heat exhaustion that led to cardiovascular and respiratory issues, citing “alveolar haemorrhage and polyvisceral congestion caused by diffuse exposure to heat” as the official cause of death.

Toxicology tests did not indicate alcohol or drugs in her blood.

The report by Rio’s Forensic Medical Institute said Ms Benevides suffered “serious compromise of her lungs” due to the heat at the Nilton Santos Stadium, which was holding more than 60,000 people.

One of Ms Benevides’ friends, who also attended the concert, told local media outlets in November that they had been given water while waiting to enter the stadium.

Organizers T4F said in a statement that the company “followed the best practices”, complied with “every demand from authorities” and “distributed thousands of bottles of water” to fans.

The company said Ms Benevides “was promptly cared for by members of a rescue team and sent (to the hospital) in an intensive-care” ambulance.

“In our 40 years in the business, this company had never registered a tragic episode” like Ms Benevides’ death due to extreme heat, T4F said.

The office of Rio’s public prosecutor has opened a criminal investigation. Police said in a statement on Wednesday that after the forensics report is analysed “representatives of the company organising the event will be called to testify”.

In a statement posted on Instagram following Ms Benevides’ death, Swift said she had been left with a “shattered heart”.

A giant bronze statue of Shakira in her trademark hip-swinging pose has been unveiled in her hometown in Colombia.

The singer shared photographs from the site in Barranquilla, a port city along the Caribbean Sea, as the 6.5m (21.3ft) tribute was unveiled.

Shakira‘s pictures showed her parents and brothers visiting the statue, along with the Spanish inscription dedicated to the 46-year-old star, which describes her birthday, 2 February 1977, as the day the city was “born to the world”.

‘Too much for my little heart’

It also praises her “heart that composes”, “unmatched talent”, “voice that moves masses”, and “hips that do not lie”, in a nod to one of her biggest hits.

Posting the photographs to her 90.3 million Instagram followers, Shakira said the dedication was “too much for my little heart”.

The sculpture was made by the artist Yino Marquez with the support of students and graduates of the District School of Arts.

Its unveiling was also attended by Barranquilla’s mayor Jaime Pumarejo Heins.

Shakira was the most googled musician in 2023, the tech company revealed earlier in December.

The star had attended court in Spain a month earlier, reaching a deal with authorities on the morning a tax fraud trial was due to begin.

She agreed to pay a fine of €7m (£6.1m) and also received a suspended three-year sentence, the AP news agency reported.

Shakira, who has two sons with her ex-partner, footballer Gerard Pique, said her lawyers had been “confident” the court would have ruled in her favour following a trial, but she decided to resolve the matter beforehand “with the best interest of my kids at heart, who do not want to see their mom sacrifice her personal wellbeing in this fight”.

The deal came just days after she was named one of the big winners at the Latin Grammys, taking home three awards.

She was presented with one prize by Sergio Ramos, former Spanish international teammate of Pique and defender for Real Madrid, rivals of Pique’s former club Barcelona.