The German city of Gelsenkirchen will honor the US pop superstar Taylor Swift by temporarily renaming itself ‘Swiftkirchen’ later this month, local authorities have announced. Swift began the 18-city European leg of her ‘Eras Tour’ in May. Her first stop in Germany will be Gelsenkirchen, where she is and is scheduled to perform on July 17, 18 and 19.
“It’s a great idea to temporarily rename Gelsenkirchen ‘Swiftkirchen’,” Mayor Karin Welge said in a letter to Aleshanee Westhoff, a German Swiftie who started a petition to that effect several weeks ago. Westhoff unveiled the sign with the city’s new, albeit temporary, name on Wednesday. Several more signs “at highly frequented locations in Gelsenkirchen” will appear in the coming days, city spokesman Markus Schwardtmann has said.
“There will be many small and large surprises so that the Swifties in Gelsenkirchen have a lot to discover,” Schwardtmann added. Die Stadt GE und wir (Stadtmarketing) freuen uns schon riesig auf US-Mega-Star Taylor Swift und die #swifties , die zu den drei Konzerten in der Arena anreisen. Das erste Zeichen ist nun die „Umbenennung“ von Gelsenkirchen in „Swiftkirchen“.
durch „Swiftie“ Aleshanee Westhoff. pic.twitter.
com/iivP89keh1 The local public transit operator BOGESTRA has already launched a “Taylor Swift tram,” while the city intends to honor the breakup-song princess with her own stone on the Gelsenkirchen Walk of Fame. Swift’s fans will also be able to.