Queuing for sold out Taylor Swift concert in Sao Paulo leads to threats and aggression: ‘This will lead to death’

Julia Guglielmo / Personal Collection
Taylor Swift fans queue to secure tickets for the singer’s concert in Sao Paulo

Tickets go on sale for the singers’ concert on Monday, the 12th at 10am, even before the official opening Taylor Swift But Brazil was marked by strikes at the ticket office and confusion in the queue – both at the Allianz Parc stadium, in Sao Pauloand Nilton Santos Stadium, Rio de Janeiro, On social media, fans threatened attacks by money changers with weapons as well as chairs and other objects. People camping in the neighborhood of Barra Funda, in the western region of the Sao Paulo capital, also said since Saturday night that they had lost their places as they got ahead of the queue.

By 4pm on Sunday, the producers of the event – ​​Time for Fun (T4F) – began distributing tickets to the public on Avenida Francisco Matarazzo, closing the queue for new buyers. This action created consternation among fans who, as per reports, would be informed on presentation of the CPF number that the delivery would happen only from 6 pm onwards. Preferential queues for the elderly, people with disabilities, pregnant women or people with infants were another target of complaints. Netizens condemned that the money changers used wheel chairs to enter the space and then, “miraculously”, left again, besides the elderly people used to save the space. Several acts of intimidation by money changers were also reported. Reilly Neff, a 19-year-old actress in charge of a tent in front of the stadium since January, said that after the queue closed, verbal threats were made to those in front. “I’ve heard phrases like ‘we’re going to mark them all, throw them in to steal and kill these deer’ and ‘this will lead to death'”, he reports.

In the report, Reilly said fans had to put tarpaulins and blankets over railings to avoid being photographed by scalpers outside the queue. According to Reilly, the military police It was called at around 7:15 but would leave fifteen minutes later without doing anything. Stationed in tents with passwords, prospective buyers have refrained from leaving camp even to obtain food or go to the bathroom at area establishments for fear of retribution from money changers. fans chatting young pan news On condition of anonymity, he said that he was surrounded and threatened with aggression. Around 9 pm, the remaining money changers tried to enter the queue. Images sent in the report showed the group jumping over bars placed on the pavement and attacking the general public. According to fans, after confusion another PM vehicle was sent and part of the invaders were also removed with the use of force. About two hours later, a representative of the construction company said police would help clear the area.

Similar cases of aggression and threats were also observed in Rio de Janeiro. Through social networks, fans placed the phrase “T4F we want respect” as one of the most commented topics on Twitter during the night. Although there is no specific law that prohibits the practice, money changers are generally implicated in the law of crimes against the popular economy, with prison terms ranging from six months to two years in addition to fines. There is provision. Next Monday’s sellout leg will be the third and last for singer Taylor Swift’s concerts in Brazil, with performances in Rio de Janeiro on November 18 and São Paulo on the 25th and 26th of the same month.

The first leg, exclusively for buyers from the 2020 shows that were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, took place on 6 June. On Friday, the 9th, the second stage was valid only for customers of C6 Bank, one of the sponsors of the event, and had over one million simultaneous accesses on the Internet. In all cases, tickets sold out within minutes. On the Internet, some entries have already been found available on resale sites for at least three times the original price. Asked by the report for clarification regarding security in the area, case records and the highlighted personnel, São Paulo’s Military Police did not respond by the time of publication. T4F has not taken a position on the matter.