Categories: Celebrities

With Taylor Swift heading to Germany, one city has taken her name — at least for a few weeks

The Swifties are about to take over the German city formerly known as Gelsenkirchen, where American superstar Taylor Swift is set to perform three Eras Tour concerts later this month. In honor of the singer, the city has temporarily renamed itself “Swiftkirchen” to welcome the tens of thousands of fans expected to attend her shows on July 17, 18, and 19, as reported by the German news agency dpa.

A yellow city sign with the new name—translating roughly to “Swift’s Church”—was unveiled on Tuesday by Swift fan Aleshanee Westhoff, who proposed the name to the city’s mayor and started a petition a few weeks ago. Mayor Karin Welge thanked the teenager for her “great idea” in a letter accepting the proposal.

The Swiftie sign, featuring a pink portrait of the pop icon, is located in the city center. Additional signs will be placed at highly frequented locations in Gelsenkirchen in the coming days, according to city spokesman Markus Schwardtmann.

Gelsenkirchen, one of Germany’s poorest cities and a former coal mining town, is known for its soccer team and a massive stadium that occasionally hosts international entertainers like Swift. The city’s transformation into “Swiftkirchen” includes more fan attractions.

Taylor Swift will receive her own stone on the Gelsenkirchen Walk of Fame, joining local notables such as soccer coach Rudi Assauer and writer Ilse Kibgis. During her concerts, the city will host open-air parties with karaoke performances. A “Taylor Swift streetcar” is already in operation, dpa reported.

Additional fan attractions are being planned but kept secret for now. “There will be lots of big and small surprises so that the Swifties have plenty to discover in Gelsenkirchen,” Schwardtmann said.

Swift’s concerts in Gelsenkirchen are sold out and will take place at the Veltins-Arena on Schalke stadium, which can accommodate up to 70,000 Swifties. Further Eras Tour shows are planned for Hamburg and Munich.

Herbert Bauernebel

Herbert Bauernebel has been reporting from New York since 1999 and currently works for Bild.de, OE24 TV, and US Live. He also runs the news portal AmerikaReport.de. Bauernebel has covered nearly all major US events of the past quarter-century, including 9/11, Hurricane Katrina, Barack Obama’s election, Donald Trump’s surprise victory, the pandemic, last year’s election showdown, as well as natural disasters such as hurricanes and oil spills. He has also reported firsthand on international events, including the Asian tsunami, the Haiti earthquake, and the Fukushima disaster. He lives in Brooklyn with his family and holds degrees in communication and political science from the University of Vienna. Bauernebel is the author of a book about his experiences on 9/11, And the Air Was Full of Ash: 9/11 – The Day That Changed My Life.

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Herbert Bauernebel

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