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Singer-songwriter and pop sensation Taylor Swift has a large fandom of millions of dedicated fans who go above and beyond to prove their love and respect for the artist. The power of this fandom can move mountains and there are many instances where they have proved it. One such instance was when a city in Germany renamed itself after Taylor Swift.
Before Swift’s Eras Tour concert, the German city of Gelsenkirchen got a new name "Swiftkirchen”. On July 2, ahead of her Eras Tour concert in the city from July 17–19, Karin Welge, the mayor of Gelsenkirchen, West Germany, accepted the temporary renaming of the city as "Swiftkirchen". The city even put-up signs with the new name, which translates to “Swift’s Church.”
#Gelsenkirchen becomes #Swiftkirchen! 😉🤩
— Stadt Gelsenkirchen (@_Gelsenkirchen_) July 2, 2024
Gelsenkirchen freut sich auf Mega-Star Taylor Swift und all die Swifties, die vom 17. bis 19. Juli in unsere Stadt kommen! Was Swifties erwarten können, erfahrt ihr hier 👉 https://t.co/DnRiDr3kZl pic.twitter.com/hLDKttpvb4
The decision to temporarily change the city's name was taken after a Taylor Swift fan, Aleshanee Westhoff from Emmerich, started a petition and wrote to Mayor Welge regarding the renaming. In a letter to Westhoff, Mayor Welge said, “It’s a great idea to temporarily rename Gelsenkirchen to ‘Swiftkirchen’, which is why 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 the city's public relations department, said, "Today is the starting signal. We will be installing many more signs in highly frequented places in Gelsenkirchen in the coming days".
In addition to the name change, the city will also see other Swift-inspired additions, such as a stone fixed to the Walk of Fame and a "Taylor Swift tram" from Bogestra, the city's public transportation system. A "big open-air Taylor Swift party" called "Taylor Town" will take place closer to the show dates in Gelsenkirchen.
Taylor Swift is currently on her sixth concert tour, called the Eras Tour. With 152 events spread across five continents, it began on March 17, 2023, in Glendale, Arizona, and is scheduled to end on December 8, 2024, in Vancouver, Canada. It was the first tour to earn more than $1 billion in revenue, making it the highest-grossing tour in history.