A German town has taken an unconventional step by temporarily renaming itself after Taylor Swift. The move was suggested by a young fan, Aleshani Westhoff, who took the initiative of writing a letter to the mayor of Gelsenkirchen. The humorous petition was made in honour of the pop star’s upcoming Eras Tour show in the city.
Over the next few weeks the city of Gelsenkirchen will be renamed ‘Swiftkirchen’, but that’s not all. A ‘Taylor Swift Tram’ has also been set up to travel around the city, with more Taylor Swift merchandise to be placed around the city.
Surprisingly, this isn’t the first city to pay such an unconventional tribute to the pop star. Taylor Swift’s influence is real and believe it or not, it’s happened before. Here’s everything you need to know.
Glendale, Arizona
In May 2023, the mayor of Glendale, Arizona renamed the city in honor of the star’s Eras Tour. Temporarily named ‘Swift City’, the name was official for the entire weekend Taylor performed in the city.
Arlington, Texas
The city of Arlington renamed one of its streets ‘Taylor Swift Way’ because she was performing over the weekend. If that wasn’t enough, the mayor also announced that a four-story steel sculpture in front of City Hall would be lit ‘red’ in honor of the album.
Tampa Bay, Florida
Tampa took the matter a little further by giving Taylor the title of ‘Mayor for the Day.’ To make it official, she was also given the key to the city. “Here in Tampa, we have to maintain our reputation. We want to go even further,” Mayor Jane Castor said in a video. “Mayor Swift is a great name. We can’t wait to welcome you and your fans to Tampa (Taylor’s version).”
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia welcomed the star in its own way, and changed the name of the radio station. 96.5 TDY (WTDY-FM) was renamed Ninety-Swift-Five TAY, and in addition to the name dedication, the radio station also announced that it would play Swift exclusively on weekends.
Minnesota
In a friendly effort to get ahead of every other city changing its name after the pop star, Minnesota Governor Tim Waltz officially renamed two days of the calendar, June 23 and 24, as ‘Taylor Swift Days.’ The city of Minneapolis, located in Minnesota, also changed its name to ‘Swifty-apolis’ for the occasion.
And you get the idea. You may not like Taylor Swift or her music, but look what she made the whole world do!
