Taylor Swift Gets German City Gelsenkirchen Renamed Ahead of Eras Tour Stop: ‘Swiftkirchen’

A city in Germany will temporarily be renamed after singer-songwriter Taylor Swift ahead of her upcoming Eras Tour stop in the country. Instead of Gelsenkirchen, the city will temporarily go by “Swiftkirchen.”

“The city of Gelsenkirchen is looking forward to welcoming U.S. mega-star Taylor Swift and the tens of thousands of Swifties who are expected to attend the three concerts in the arena from July 17th to 19th,” mayor Karin Welge wrote in a Tuesday statement, translated by Google. Swift’s trio of Gelsenkirchen concerts are set for July 17-19.

The city’s name change was the result of a suggestion from a fan named Aleshanee Westhoff after they started a petition and reached out to the mayor.

“It’s a great idea to temporarily rename Gelsenkirchen to ‘Swiftkirchen’, so I’m particularly pleased that you can experience the short-term ‘renaming’ of Gelsenkirchen live and up close in Gelsenkirchen today,” Welge said in her response letter to Westhoff.

On top of the new name, the city’s public relations department shared that it will be “installing many more signs in highly frequented places in Gelsenkirchen in the coming days.”

On the Gelsenkirchen public website, Welge said she’s overjoyed by the idea.

“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,” she said. “International attention will therefore be back on our city.”

Other amendments around the city include a “Taylor Swift tram,” a “Taylor Town” party and a stone for Swift on Gelsenkirchen’s Walk of Fame.

People was first to report the news.

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