Table of Contents
In an unconventionally novel move, a city in Germany has temporarily renamed itself after Taylor Swift. The move was suggested by Aleshanee Westhoff, a young fan who took the initiative to write to the mayor of Gelsenkirchen. The humorous petition was made in honour of the pop star’s upcoming Eras Tour shows happening in the city.
For the next few weeks, the city of Gelsenkirchen will be renamed ‘Swiftkirchen’ but that’s not all. The city has also installed a โTaylor Swift Tramโ for travelling around the city, which will be supplemented with more Taylor Swift paraphernalia around the city.
Surprisingly, this is not the first city that has dedicated such an unconventional tribute to the pop star. The Taylor Swift effect is real and believe it or not, this has happened before. Here’s everything you need to know.
Glendale, Arizona
In May 2023, the mayor of Glendale, Arizona renamed the city in honour of the star’s Eras tour. Temporarily christened โSwift Cityโ, the name was official for the entire weekend Taylor played in the city.
Arlington, Texas
The city of Arlington ceremoniously renamed one of their streets to โTaylor Swift Wayโ for the weekend she was performing. If this was not enough, the mayor also declared that a four-story steel sculpture in front of City Hall would be lit โRedโ in honour of the album.
Tampa Bay, Florida
Tampa took things a little further, offering Taylor the title of โMayor For The Day.โ To make it official, she was also given a key to the city. โHere in Tampa, weโve got a reputation to uphold. We want to go bigger,โ said Mayor Jane Castor in a video. โMayor Swift has a nice ring to it. We canโt wait to welcome you and your fans to Tampa (Taylorโs version).โ
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia welcomed the star in their own way, choosing to rename a radio station. 96.5 TDY (WTDY-FM) was renamed Ninety-Swift-Five T-A-Y and in addition to the moniker dedication, the radio station also announced that it would exclusively play Swift for the weekend.
Minnesota
In a friendly attempt to one-up every other city that changed its name for the pop star, Minnesota Governor Tim Waltz officially renamed two days of the calendar, 23 and 24 June, as โTaylor Swift Daysโ. The city of Minneapolis located in Minnesota also renamed itself โSwiftie-apolisโ for the occasion.
And there you have it. You might not like Taylor Swift or her music, but look what she made the whole world do!ย
