A town in Germany is getting ready to say “Guten Tag!” to Taylor Swiftwith officials moving to temporarily rename Gelsenkirchen 'Swiftkirchen' in honor of the pop star's upcoming Trio Eras tour in the area.
According to a statement on city website Tuesday (July 2), Gelsenkirchen is already being transformed two whole weeks before Swift's performances at the Veltins-Arena July 17-19. The name change was first suggested by a young local fan named Aleshanee Westhoff – who started a petition and wrote directly to mayor Karin Welge – so she managed to do the honor of erecting the first 'Swiftkirchen' sign on Ebertstraße, a street city's.
The city will continue to place similar signs in busy areas of Gelsenkirchen. In addition, a so-called “Taylor Swift tram” is already in operation in the area, and the “Anti-Hero” singer will receive a colorful stone on Gelsenkirchen's official Walk of Fame.
“It is a very good idea to temporarily rename Gelsenkirchen to 'Swiftkirchen', so I am especially happy that you can experience the short-term 'renaming' of Gelsenkirchen live and up close in Gelsenkirchen today,” said Mayor Welge in a thank you note – the letter your to Westhoff.
Swiftkirchen will also be complete with a series of “Taylor Town” festivities on the days of the pop star's performances, featuring karaoke, DJ sets, a tattoo stand, market and food and drink vendors. “As mayor, I am of course very happy that Taylor Swift, currently the most successful singer in the world, will perform three times in Gelsenkirchen,” Welge added in a statement.
Gelsenkirchen isn't the only city to make all the Swift Eras tour stops this past year, nor is it the first to be temporarily renamed in its honor. Ahead of the 14-time Grammy winner's opening performances in 2023, Glendale, Ariz., went from “Swift City,” while Minneapolis became “Swiftie-apolis” and Santa Clara, Calif., was designated “Swiftie Clara” that the summer.
Swift still has a few stops to make before arriving in Gelsenkirchen, starting with three nights in Amsterdam July 4-6. He will then perform two nights in Zurich, followed by another duo of shows in Milan.
“As soon as I saw the first audience in Dublin on Friday night I knew we were in for a wild weekend,” the superstar wrote on Instagram earlier this week after her most recent shows, which were in Ireland. “The spirit of these 3 glorious crowds embodied fun, joy and exuberance, and we felt so lucky to be there. The Irish fans made us feel at home, so welcome in every way. I still smile thinking about it now.”
from our partners at https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/taylor-swifts-eras-tour-german-city-changes-name-1235724323/