After dealing with a major heat wave at last night's Eras Tour stop, Taylor Swift has decided to postpone her second show in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. This news comes after a fan died right before her last show and the pop star was seen speaking to the crowd about getting water and eventually throwing a water bottle into the audience to help hydrate fans.
Letting Swifties know that tonight's show will not go on, Swift took to Instagram to explain why, writing:
As the singer wrote, the show was postponed due to "extreme temperatures." There has been an extreme heat wave in Rio this week, so it does make sense that tonight's show was postponed. At the moment, it’s 93 F in Rio and it feels like 107 F, per the Weather Channel. Between now and 8 p.m. the temperature is not expected to drop below 90 F.
During Swift’s first show in Rio, many fans were dehydrated, and the pop star tried to help them get water on multiple occasions during the show. As she wrote in her statement “the safety and well-being of [her] fans, fellow performers and crew has to and always will come first.”
Following last night’s concert, the mayor of Rio, Eduardo Paes, posted on Twitter that they’d be taking measures to ensure that Swift’s next shows were safer. He said fans could expect:
- anticipate entry by 1 hour and occupy the circulation ring to keep the public out of the sun
- new water distribution points;
- increase in the number of brigade members
- increase in ambulances
However, even though more safety measures were being taken in comparison to last night, it was deemed too hot to let the show go on.
This is the second time in the span of a little over a week that Swift has postponed a show due to unsafe weather conditions. Last week she moved her second show in Argentina because of the “weather being so truly chaotic” due to thunderstorms and high winds, as she wrote in her statement about the Buenos Aires show. The event was originally supposed to happen on a Friday and it was simply moved to Sunday.
Fans in Rio will have a similar experience when it comes to their show because it's been rescheduled for Monday, November 20, per Time For Fun's Instagram. So Swifties will get to see the Eras Tour live, and they won't have to wait long.
It’s important to note when it comes to Taylor Swift’s events, she almost never cancels or postpones them, which means these weather conditions are very serious. For example, during her shows in Foxborough, Massachusetts earlier this summer, she famously played through a torrential downpour, and said during her surprise song set that below the stage it was like a “water park.” She’s not afraid of harsh weather, however, when it threatens the safety of everyone at the concert, she will move her show.
Knowing Taylor Swift’s track record, she will make sure her fans still have a great experience, and Rio’s Swifties will get to see the Eras Tour when it’s safe to do so.