Taylor Swift received a divine welcome upon her arrival in Brazil. On Thursday night, as the “I Can See You” singer, 33, continued the Latin American leg of her Eras Tour in Rio de Janeiro, she was greeted by the city’s landmark Christ the Redeemer statue — but it had been personalized for the pop star.
In a photo shared by a fan account on X (formerly known as Twitter), the statue was covered in a white shirt that featured the names of Brazil’s states, as well as symbols found in Swift’s songs including a bow and arrow, which appears to reference her Lover track “The Archer,” and a scarf, which seems to reference her Red hit “All Too Well.”
The shirt itself appeared to pay homage to the one she wears in the music video for her Fearless single “You Belong with Me,” which featured the words “Junior Jewels” emblazoned on the front of it with the names of her high school BFFs.
In a video posted to X (formerly known as Twitter), Mayor Eduardo Paes said a projection would be showcased on the statue on Thursday, comparing Swift’s presence in Brazil to that of Michael Jackson and Madonna. “We will properly honor Taylor Swift and her arrival to Carioca territory tonight,” he said in the video, which has been translated from Portuguese to English. “Welcome, Taylor Swift.”
“Swifties” cariocas… are you ready for it? pic.twitter.com/HReNorFIma
— Eduardo Paes (@eduardopaes) November 16, 2023
Beginning Friday, Swift is slated to perform three shows at Rio de Janeiro’s Nilton Santos stadium and will continue her run in Latin America with three more shows in São Paulo next weekend.
According to the Brazilian newspaper O Globo per NBC News, the mayor’s declaration follows an online fan movement that ignited for Omar Raposo, rector of the sanctuary of Christ the Redeemer, to project a shirt from one of Swift’s music videos onto the statue when she visited.
In return, Swifties funded the donation of 20,000 units of panettone, a holiday dessert, and clean water to support local charities for the Holy See’s World Day of the Poor. Last weekend, Swift performed in the Argentine capital Buenos Aires, where Travis Kelce flew to Argentina on his bye week.
During the Grammy winner’s Saturday night performance, she changed the lyrics of “Karma” to reflect her budding romance with the Kansas City Chiefs tight end, 34, as she sang, “Karma is the guy on the Chiefs, coming straight home to me,” which elicited cheering from the crowd and a sweet reaction from Kelce himself.
