German City Renames Itself After Taylor Swift Ahead Of The Eras Tour

Taylor Swift is bringing The Eras Tour to Gelsenkirchen, Germany in a couple weeks. But the music superstar might need to change the city listed on the back of her tour t-shirts. Gelsenkirchen has temporarily renamed itself ‘Swiftkirchen’ in celebration of Swift’s three upcoming shows there on July 17-19. The idea for the name change was initially suggested by a young Swiftie named Aleshanee Westhoff, who started a petition and wrote to Mayor Karin Welge suggesting the switch.

“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,” wrote Mayor Welge in a personal thank-you letter to Westhoff. Westhoff had the honor of erecting the first “Swiftkirchen” sign in the town. There will also be a ‘Taylor Swift tram’ running through the area, and the singer will get a stone on Gelsenkirchen’s official Walk of Fame. (NME)