The Christ the Redeemer statue in Brazil’s capital Rio de Janeiro is also apparently a Swiftie. Just in time for the US superstar’s visit, the statue welcomes the singer in the fan shirt. Swift, who is in town for her first “Eras Tour” concert, was greeted with the message “Welcome to Brazil.” This not only made the singer happy, but also a number of her fans – because the shirt that was beamed onto the statue with a projector was reminiscent of the music video for the popular Swift song “You Belong With Me”.
While the original shirt from the video says “Junior Jewels”, the 27 states of Brazil could be seen on the robe of the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro. Many Brazilians may have worn a similar shirt on the evening of the concert, as it is considered a popular outfit for Swift concerts. Many of the concert goers gathered in front of the statue before the start and were happy about the love message to their musical idol. Pictures of the famous statue also made the rounds on X (formerly Twitter).
But the whole operation had another purpose. The Catholic priest Omar Raposo, who is responsible for the statue of Christ, launched a call for donations on Instagram. He wrote that if a total of around 56,000 euros were raised, he would dress up the statue as a Swift fan to properly welcome the US superstar. And the response to the call for donations was so great that the campaign website was temporarily down. Given this enormous feedback, Rio de Janeiro’s mayor Eduardo Paes was also convinced of the idea. In any case, the result speaks for itself.
Taylor Swift will play a total of six concerts in Brazil, three of them this weekend in Rio. The first took place on Friday evening. During the concert there was a tragic incident in the audience. According to a report in Brazilian daily Folha de S. Paulo, a 23-year-old student died of cardiac arrest after collapsing during the concert. According to the media report, there were a total of almost a thousand fainting spells at the concert, which was due to the high temperatures in Rio de Janeiro.
Swift responded on Instagram after the concert, saying: “I can’t believe I’m writing these words, but with a shattered heart I have to say we lost a fan before my show tonight. I can’t even say how I am devastated.” The other two planned concerts should still take place as planned.
