MADRID - The crowd huddled on the floor of the Estadio Santiago Bernabéu and stood shoulder-to-shoulder waiting for Taylor Swift to take the stage. The sticky hot air hung in anticipation of the Eras Tour as beads of sweat dripped. The ventilation flaps at the upper shelf of the arena stood open, but without a breeze seemed like a pointless invitation for the 90 degree weather to stay for the Spanish concert.
Stadium workers offered free cups of water to the 67,000 fans, but most people with a close enough spot to grab a non-grainy photo or video of Swift near her stage didn't take them up on the offer. Fans hydrated right before entering the stadium and used the bathroom for the final time. Once in place for the start of the concert, there was no turning back when the orange-and-purple parachute flaps revealed Miss Americana.
By the 20th song of the night, Swift was calling for help for fans. "Ayuda por favor,” (help please) she said as she twirled during “August” in the “Folklore”/“Evermore” combined set. Moments before during “Betty” she also asked for workers to get water.
In almost every European city, fans in person and on livestreams have noticed Swift asks staff for help for concert goers. Swift has paused or interrupted her show at least 14 out of 31 concerts. Sometimes she will speak out once. Other times she points to fans multiple times in one show. Twice she has said she won't continue playing music until the fans get help. And if she calls it out but notices that help is on the way, Swift thanks the staff.
The different songs where she asks for assistance vary, but the most common song is the 10-minute version of "All Too Well." Here are a couple examples:
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In Stockholm on night three, Swift asked fans if they were holding up lights to get her attention or if someone needed help before the acoustic section.
In Scotland on night one, the singer noticed a fan needed help and strummed her guitar until workers arrived to the distressed fan. This was the most noticeable abruption with Swift singing, "I’m just gonna keep playing until someone notices them." Right before the acoustic set, she made an announcement before her big belting note in "I Can Do It With A Broken Heart."
In London on night one, she asked for assistance during "All Too Well," "Betty," and "Champagne Problems."
In Dublin on night one, she pointed out a fan needed help and then thanked staff while switching outfits and singing "Lavender Haze."
In Amsterdam on night two, she interrupted "All Too Well" three times, each time her voice raised with urgency.
On night two in Switzerland, she said, "We need help back there please... we need help there... there" before finishing the last chorus of "My Tears Ricochet."
Why does Taylor Swift keep stopping shows?
Swift has called for assistance at 45 percent of the concerts, so far, on the Europe leg. In contrast, she made one interruption during her U.S. tour last year (out of 53), when a security worker appeared too aggressive with a fan during her hit "Bad Blood."
There's one big reason for the call outs: Seats.
In Europe, there are no assigned seats on the floor for the rugby and fútbol stadiums visited by Swift's monumental production and this is common for big stadium sell-outs. The tickets may be cheaper, but the luxury of being able to leave your spot to go to the bathroom or get concessions is gone.
A similar non-seating arrangement occurred in the cruel temperatures of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil during November of last year. Temperatures skyrocketed to the triple digits igniting an excessive heat warning. Fans reported having to leave their water bottles and umbrellas at the gates. Once inside the Estádio Olímpico Nilton Santos, fans complained of the access to water and price to get a $2 cup. In the horde, Ana Clara Benevides Machado was transported to the hospital where she died of cardiac arrest caused by heat exhaustion.
Swift did what she could during the three hour plus show calling out for help as fans chanted "water, water, water..." At one point during "All Too Well," the Eras Tour singer was seen grabbing a water bottle from staff on one side of the stage and walking to the other to throw a water bottle into the crowd.
"She has a lot of power," Andrea Davis said shortly following Benevides' death. Davis is the president and CEO of the Resiliency Initiative, a global consulting company focused on crisis management and risk mitigation planning. "During a concert, this should not be the artist's responsibility to hand out water. But unfortunately it is because she has a brand to protect, and she genuinely cares about her concertgoers."
The chief executive of the event producer Time4Fun, Serafim Abreu, apologized in a video posted to social media: “We recognize that we could have taken some additional alternative actions to all the others we did, such as creating shaded areas out of the stadium, changing the time initially scheduled for the shows, placing greater emphasis on allowing people to bring disposable water cups."
Swift invited Benevides' family to her final show in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Since then, international shows have visibly added access to water and Swift has served as a vigilant guard pausing parts of her shows and calling out when fans need help. She isn't shy about speaking into her microphone and has made interruptions during many of her eras. The interjections occur between lines in songs, sometimes they serve in place of her lyrics.
Fans are the first to alert stadium workers, first responders or Swift, herself. They wave cell phone flashlights. Since the floor is sardine-packed, first responders will assemble a line and hold glow lights above their heads to snake through the crowd. If a fan needs to get out of the crowd, the workers may push back through carrying the fan or get them to the open-perimeter barrier between the stage and the crowd.
Every stadium's response to providing water is different. In Stockholm, there were tubs along the floor with multi-spouts that fans could replenish their cups. In Madrid, workers with red boxes containing water walked around to fill up cups. In Switzerland, workers passed out ice cold bottles of water and gold and silver rescue blankets. Massive fans blew mist over the crowd.
The help calls happen in all temperatures. Swift's hand cramped in Edinburgh, Scotland from the freezing wind. That's the same city she said she continued playing her guitar and sing-talk-said she could "do this all night."
Seven cities left with open seating
Swift heads to Milan, Italy for two shows on Saturday and Sunday where temperatures will hover in the mid-to-high 80's with a 62 percent chance of a rain show on night one. According to AccuWeather, the following six cities in Germany, Poland, Austria and the United Kingdom are predicted to have temperatures in the 70's.
Swift's team did not return a request to comment on the constant interruptions at shows. Her last "open seating" stint on the Eras Tour will be her five August concerts in Wembley Stadium.
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