With Taylor Swift heading to Germany, one city has taken her name — at least for a few weeks
Posted 7/4/24
BERLIN (AP) — The Swifties are about to take over the German city formerly known as Gelsenkirchen, where American superstar Taylor Swift is set to give three Eras Tour concerts later this …
You must be a member to read this story.
Join our family of readers for as little as $5 per month and support local, unbiased journalism.
Current print subscribers can create a free account by clicking here
Otherwise, follow the link below to join.
To Our Valued Readers –
Visitors to our website will be limited to five stories per month unless they opt to subscribe. The five stories do not include our exclusive content written by our journalists.
For $6.99, less than 20 cents a day, digital subscribers will receive unlimited access to YourValley.net, including exclusive content from our newsroom and access to our Daily Independent e-edition.
Our commitment to balanced, fair reporting and local coverage provides insight and perspective not found anywhere else.
Your financial commitment will help to preserve the kind of honest journalism produced by our reporters and editors. We trust you agree that independent journalism is an essential component of our democracy. Please click here to subscribe.
Need to set up your free e-Newspaper all-access account? click here.
Non-subscribers
Click here to see your options for becoming a subscriber.
Register to comment
Click here create a free account for posting comments.
Note that free accounts do not include access to premium content on this site.
I am anchor
With Taylor Swift heading to Germany, one city has taken her name — at least for a few weeks
Schoolgirl Aleshanee Westhoff shows a "Swiftkirchen" town sign in honor of musician Taylor Swift in Gelsenkirchen, Germany, Tuesday, July 2, 2024. The Swifties are about to take over the German city of Gelsenkirchen, where American superstar Taylor Swift is set to give three concerts of her Eras Tour later this month. In honor of the singer, the city renamed itself “Swiftkirchen" — at least temporarily to welcome the tens of thousands of fans who are expected to come for the Eras Tour shows on July 17, 18 and 19, German news agency dpa reported. (Bernd Thissen/dpa via AP)
Posted
BERLIN (AP) — The Swifties are about to take over the German city formerly known as Gelsenkirchen, where American superstar Taylor Swift is set to give three Eras Tour concerts later this month.
In honor of the singer, the city has renamed itself “Swiftkirchen" — at least temporarily — to welcome the tens of thousands of fans who are expected to come for her shows on July 17, 18 and 19, German news agency dpa reported.
A yellow city sign with the new name — which translates roughtly to “Swift's Church” — was unveiled Tuesday by Swift fan Aleshanee Westhoff, who suggested 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 has been emblazoned with a pink portrait of the pop icon and is located in the city center. Several more signs “at highly frequented locations in Gelsenkirchen” will be put up in the coming days, city spokesman Markus Schwardtmann told dpa.
One of the poorest cities in Germany, Gelsenkirchen is a former coal mining town that's never recovered from the decline of its main industry. The Ruhr city is known for its soccer team, and a massive stadium that occasionally attracts international entertainers like Swift.
And there's more to come in Germany's Swiftie town.
The U.S. singer will also receive her own stone on the Gelsenkirchen Walk of Fame, alongside local notables like soccer coach Rudi Assauer and writer Ilse Kibgis, and during her concerts, the city will host open-air parties with karaoke performances. A “Taylor Swift streetcar” is already up and running, dpa reported.
Further fan attractions are being planned but kept secret for the time being. “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 has space for up to 70,000 Swifties. Further Eras Tour shows are planned for Hamburg and Munich.