Rio’s famous Christ statue welcomes Taylor Swift thanks to Swifties and a priest

The Christ the Redeemer statue illuminated with a welcome message for American singer Taylor Swift in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (Bruna Prado/AP)

Rio de Janeiro’s Christ the Redeemer statue was illuminated with a welcome to Brazil message for Taylor Swift.

As her sweep of Rio de Janeiro shows got under way this week, the pop superstar and her legions of devoted fans were greeted by the wide-open arms of the world’s most-famous Christ statue, sporting a projected image of a Swift-inspired T-shirt.