Gelsenkirchen, a city in western Germany, is temporarily renaming itself “Swiftkirchen” in honour of Taylor Swift’s upcoming Eras Tour shows. The city’s mayor, Karin Welge, approved the proposal ahead of the popstar’s performances from July 17-19.
Taylor Swift is set to perform at three concerts in Gelsenkirchen, and thousands of her fans, known as ‘Swifties,’ are expected to attend. The city is preparing for the events by putting up signs with the new name, which translates to “Swift’s Church.”
The decision to temporarily change the city’s name was taken after Aleshanee Westhoff from Emmerich, a fan of Taylor, started a petition and even wrote to Mayor Welge about this.
“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,” Mr Welge said in a letter to Westhoff, according to an official release.
Also, the first signage that marks the entrance to “Swiftkirchen” has also been installed by Westhoff on Ebertstrasse, the release stated.
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”.