Yes, Germany Is Actually Renaming a City After Taylor Swift
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Yes, Germany Is Actually Renaming a City After Taylor Swift

Ahead of Taylor Swift’s upcoming Eras Tour shows, the German city of Gelsenkirchen is getting a new, Swiftified name.

On July 2, Western Germany city Gelsenkirchen’s mayor Karin Welge approved temporarily renaming the city “Swiftkirchen.” This change is in anticipation of Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour stop in the city from July 17 through July 19.

According to a Google-translated news release on the city’s website, the fun tribute was first suggested by fan Aleshanee Westhoff. She started a petition and wrote to the mayor about the change.

 

Taylor Swift
Taylor Swift in June

 

“It’s a great idea to temporarily rename Gelsenkirchen to ‘Swiftkirchen,’ ” Mayor Welge wrote in a response letter to Westhoff, according to the Google translation from German to English. “I’m particularly pleased that you can experience the short-term ‘renaming’ of Gelsenkirchen live and up close in Gelsenkirchen today.”

Markus Schwardtmann, the head of Gelsenkirchen’s public relations department, also confirmed that the city will be installing many more signs. These signs will be placed in highly frequented places in Gelsenkirchen in the coming days.

 

Taylor Swift

 

“As mayor, I am of course very happy that Taylor Swift, currently the most successful singer in the world, will be performing three times in Gelsenkirchen,” Welge said. This statement was translated and published on the city website. “International attention will therefore be back on our city.”

Along with the name change, other Swift-inspired changes will come to the city.

These include a “Taylor Swift tram” from Bogestra, the local public transport in the city, and a stone that will be added to the city’s Walk of Fame. Closer to the show dates, Gelsenkirchen will also host a “a big open-air Taylor Swift party” called “Taylor Town,” which will include “lots of offers (swap market, karaoke, tattoos) related to the star.”

 

Taylor Swift
Taylor Swift,

 

“There will be many small and large surprises so that the Swifties in Gelsenkirchen have a lot to discover,” Schwardtmann said.

“There will be many small and large surprises so that the Swifties in Gelsenkirchen have a lot to discover,” Schwardtmann said.

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