Swiftkirchen: Gelsenkirchen welcomes Taylor Swift with open arms

Swiftkirchen: Gelsenkirchen welcomes Taylor Swift with open arms

a new capital for Swiftkirchen

When the American talk show presenter Jimmy Kimmel joked over Gelsenkirchen at the beginning of the year, it was the ignorance of the place that led to this curious remark. In the meantime, however, Gelsenkirchen is no longer unknown; On the contrary - it has achieved worldwide attention, albeit questionable.

The city in the Ruhr area achieved unwanted celebrity in English football fans, whose insults and abuse against Gelsenkirchen on the Internet accepted viral dimensions. The supposedly bad reputation of the city as a "dirty hole" is part of a long history of prejudices and clichés about life in the Ruhr area.

The transformation to Swiftkirchen

The latest verbal attacks were the reason for the Hamburg cultural senator Carsten Brosda to make himself public for his hometown. He referred to Georg Kreisler's song about Gelsenkirchen and his own childhood experiences in the city. But instead of being discouraged by the negative statements, the city leaders of Gelsenkirchen decided to use the attention positively.

In the course of the upcoming Taylor Swift concert in July, a creative idea was born: Gelsenkirchen will be renamed "Swiftkirchen". This unconventional advertising campaign shows that the city is ready to reinvent itself and to break away from old clichés. A place sign with the new name is already adorned by the city center, accompanied by a specially furnished "Taylor Swift Straßenbahn".

The renaming to "Swiftkirchen" not only gives the city a new identity, but also underlines the global meaning of Taylor Swift and its followers. The fans, also known as "Swifties", worship the pop singer in an almost religious way and see her concerts as a spiritual event. This special connection to Taylor Swift is strengthened by the symbolic renaming of the city.

Gelsenkirchen will not only become another concert location, but to a spiritual center for those who worship Taylor Swift as an icon. The transformation to "Swiftkirchen" is not only a tribute to the singer, but also a courageous step of the city to reinvent itself and free itself from old prejudices.

- Nag