Rio’s Christ the Redeemer statue lights up for arrival of Taylor Swift

Taylor Swift was given a special welcome in Rio de Janeiro on Thursday (November 16) when the iconic Christ the Redeemer statue was lit up to honour her arrival.

The personalised projection incorporated images and symbols associated with Swift’s career, including a bow and arrow, in tribute to her song ‘The Archer’, and a scarf that recalls the ‘Red’ song ‘All Too Well’.

The statue was also adorned in a giant white shirt bearing the names of Brazil’s states, in reference to the shirt Swift wears in the video for ‘You Belong With Me’, which was covered in the names of her school friends.

📷| Closer look at Taylor’s projection on Christ the Redeemer in Rio 🇧🇷 pic.twitter.com/W2YmlqXKkd

— The Swift Society (@TheSwiftSociety) November 17, 2023

The mayor of Rio de Janeiro, Eduardo Paes, has also spoken about her arrival: “We will properly honour Taylor Swift and her arrival to Carioca territory tonight. Welcome, Taylor Swift.”

Swift’s trip to Brazil has already been touched by tragedy, after a fan died before a show in Rio de Janeiro today (November 18). The individual has been named by Brazilian media as Ana Clara Benevides, 23, noting that she fainted at the show and suffered a cardiac arrest.

Posting on Instagram, Swift wrote: “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.”

She continued: “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.

Last week (November 10), she was forced to push back her second scheduled date in Argentina by two days due to bad weather.

“I love a rain show but I’m never going to endanger my fans or my fellow performers and crew,” Swift wrote in a post on social media to announce the delayed concert.

It was previously reported that some ticketholders had been camping outside the River Plate Stadium in Buenos Aires since June in a bid to get a good spot in the audience at the gigs.

Swift’s new album, ‘1989 (Taylor’s Version)’, held off The Beatles from the top of the UK Albums Chart this week, holding the top spot ahead of the Liverpool band’s ‘Blue’ and ‘Red’ re-issues, which came in at Number Two and Three respectively.

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