Kristofer Purnell - Philstar.com
July 5, 2024 | 2:02pm
MANILA, Philippines — The German city of Gelsenkirchen will temporarily change its name to Swiftkirchen ahead of award-winning singer-songwriter Taylor Swift's upcoming stops in the city for her long-running "Eras Tour."
Gelsenkirchen mayor Karin Welge received a letter from local fan Aleshanee Westhoff about the possibility of changing the city's name for Taylor's performances from July 17 to 19, which the official obliged to.
"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," Karin replied to Aleshanee.
The fan and her sister Maylia helped install the first sign marking the entrance to "Swiftkirchen" — in English would mean "Swift's Church" — with more signs expected to pop up in the coming months.
A "Taylor Swift tram" is already going around the city and the Taylor will get a colorful stone on the city's official Walk of Fame.
Taylor is currently in the Netherlands leg of the Eras Tour and will stop by Switzerland and Italy before starting off her German legs in "Swiftkirchen" followed by Hamburg and the capital Munich.
