This long-unlucky town is so pleased with its momentary good fortune that it has put up yellow signs declaring itself “Swiftkirchen” — literally, Swift’s churches.
“We are looking forward to sharing this experience with Taylor Swift fans,” said Mayor Karin Welge. “I think we will have many positive encounters that will also be contagious for the residents.”
She also hopes that this attention will be useful to the city.
Gelsenkirchen is part of Swift’s tour because of its stadium. The regular home of professional football team Schalke 04, the stadium has a retractable roof and is one of the few arenas in Germany that can hold more than 50,000 people.
“You could say that the spiritual center of the city is actually the stadium,” said local historian Daniel Schmidt.
About 60,000 fans are expected to fill the arena for each Swift concert. At the first concert on Wednesday night, Swift made a point of thanking the stadium staff. “The incredible team at this stadium is very fast, they come to you very, very quickly and help you make sure you have water and that you’re well taken care of,” she said.
Gelsenkirchen is just under an hour’s drive from the Dutch border, so it is also accessible from the Netherlands and Belgium.
But before this week, Germans, Dutch and Belgians who knew Gelsenkirchen may not have had a good opinion of it. The city has the highest unemployment rate in the country, the highest child poverty rate and the lowest wages.
Gelsenkirchen was once a major European mining centre. A sign at the railway station still greets arrivals with “Glück auf!” – a traditional miner’s expression used to wish their colleagues a safe return to the surface.
The city has never recovered from the decline of its main industry, however. Last month, when it was one of ten venues for Euro 2024, a Sky News reporter told viewers: “There’s not much left in Gelsenkirchen.”
Economic frustrations and concerns about immigration have boosted support for the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, which won 21.7 percent of the vote in last month’s European Parliament elections.
But Taylor Swift’s concerts offer a brief respite for everyone. The anticipation was so great that the local newspaper Rheinische Post began publishing a regular newsletter, “Waiting for Taylor,” last May.
This week, a tram from Gelsenkirchen to the neighboring city of Bochum was covered with photos of the singer. Taylor Swift parties are taking place in and around the city. And a three-day “Taylor Town” market is taking place on Heinrich Koenigplatz.
The July sun glinted off sequined dresses and jackets Wednesday as Taylor Town fans danced and sang along to a Taylor Swift-inspired DJ set. Some Swifties posed for selfies in front of images from their favorite albums. Others exchanged friendship bracelets while browsing merchandise and eating sausages.
At one of the covered stalls, Pauline Rosenstock, 23, a nurse from Uelzen in northern Germany, opted for a more permanent souvenir: a tattoo.
“These are the ‘falling autumn leaves’ that Taylor sings about in ‘All Too Well,’” she said, pointing to the design etched near the crease of her left arm.
According to the Chamber of Industry and Commerce (IHK) of the North Westphalia region, these three concerts will be particularly profitable for the retail, catering and hotel trade in the region. The approximately 1,000 hotel rooms in Gelsenkirchen, which this week cost up to three times the usual price per night, have already been fully booked for a long time.
Figures based on festival-goers’ spending habits suggest Swifties could spend between $110 and $220 a day on food and drink alone, said IHK’s Jochen Grütters, who is responsible for the Gelsenkirchen region.
“The state of North Rhine-Westphalia is on summer vacation at the time of the concerts and many families without tickets will certainly visit Gelsenkirchen and Taylor Town as a holiday activity,” said Grütters.
Graziella Dell’Aquila, 58, an ice cream shop owner, created a special Swiftkirchen cocktail in honor of the singer. The concoction of strawberries, cream and white chocolate, topped with edible glitter, gold and butterflies, was a hit.
“We already sold five containers the day before the first concert,” she said. “Our ice cream maker is working like crazy in the back.”
Among those roaming the streets of Gelsenkirchen this week are American fans who have planned their summer vacations around Swift’s European concerts – thinking that the price of plane tickets, hotels and a few hundred dollars for a ticket here is still more affordable than the astronomical prices of Taylor Swift tickets in the United States.
“Our tickets here were a lot cheaper than in the States, and we’re happy to travel to Europe,” said McKenna Waldman, 29, a customer service manager from Wisconsin, as she waited outside the arena with a friend Wednesday.
Brad Davis, 51, a real estate agent from North Carolina, drove 4,213 miles with his wife and two teenage children to Gelsenkirchen for Swift’s second concert, before spending time elsewhere in Germany and France.
“It will be an introduction to Europe for my kids,” Davis said, adding that the family is looking forward to sharing their experience with fans around the world.
German Swifties Bernd Gerwing, 20, and Sabrina Munck, 35, who created a Facebook group to connect fans in the run-up to the three concerts, had a considerably shorter journey. Munck is from Gelsenkirchen and said she was proud to see her hometown featured alongside cities like London, Paris and Milan.
“It’s definitely one of the least attractive corners of the Ruhr,” she said, referring to the gloomy parts of the city’s architecture built on the rubble of World War II. “But I’m from here. I don’t know any other place.”
Julia Meya and Marius Rupieper, both 31, helped organize the Taylor Town market. “There is some truth in the negative comments about Gelsenkirchen,” Rupieper said. “The city is not doing well in many areas, and that’s something that has always troubled us. We’ve both traveled the world a lot and we always want to make a difference here.”
“But the reaction from local people has also been overwhelmingly positive,” Meya said. “Looking around and seeing the joy it brings to people, I almost had tears in my eyes.”
Swift isn’t the first international star to perform at the city’s Veltins Arena. The Rolling Stones, Bon Jovi, Bruce Springsteen and Metallica have all passed through here.
“What’s different this time is the fan base,” Rupieper said. “Maybe this is the beginning of a new dynamic that will allow the city to welcome international stars.”
Gelsenkirchen may be the ultimate test of whether Swift can, as she sings, “make the whole place sparkle.”
Gn entert
News Source : www.washingtonpost.com
