The long-unlucky town is so pleased with its momentary good fortune that it has hung up yellow signs proclaiming itself “Swiftkirchen” — literally, the church of the Swift.
“We are looking forward to sharing this experience with Taylor Swift fans,” said Mayor Karin Welge. “I think there will be a lot of positive interactions that will be contagious for locals as well.”
He also expressed hope that this attention would be beneficial to the city.
Gelsenkirchen is part of Swift’s tour because of its stadium. Normally home to pro soccer team Schalke 04, the place has a retractable roof and is one of the few arenas in Germany that can seat more than 50,000 people.
“You could say the spiritual center of the city is really the stadium,” local historian Daniel Schmidt said.
About 60,000 fans are expected to attend the arena each night of Swift’s show. During the first concert on Wednesday night, Swift thanked the stadium staff. “The amazing staff at this stadium reaches out to you guys really quickly and helps make sure you have water and you’re taken care of,” she said.
Gelsenkirchen is about an hour’s drive from the Dutch border, so can also be reached from the Netherlands and Belgium.
But before this week, Germans, Dutch and Belgians who actually knew about Gelsenkirchen probably didn’t have a very good opinion of it. The city has the country’s highest unemployment rate, the highest child poverty rate and the lowest wages.
Gelsenkirchen was once a major coal mining center in Europe. A signboard at the train station still greets visitors with “Glück auf!” – a traditional miners’ expression used to wish co-workers a safe return to the surface.
However, the city has never recovered from the decline of its main industry. When it was included last month as one of 10 venues for the Euro 2024 football championships, a Sky News reporter told viewers: “There’s really not much left in Gelsenkirchen.”
Economic frustrations and immigration concerns have boosted support for the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, which won 21.7 percent of the vote in European Parliament elections last month.
But the Swift show brings some relief to everyone. There was so much anticipation that the local newspaper, the Rhenish Post, started publishing a regular newsletter called “Waiting for Taylor” in May.
This week, pictures of the singer have been plastered on a tram running between Gelsenkirchen and neighbouring Bochum. Taylor Swift club nights are being held in and around the city. And a three-day “Taylor Town” market is taking place in Heinrich Koenig Square.
The July sunshine fell on sequined dresses and jackets on Wednesday as fans in Taylor Town danced and sang 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 they looked at merchandise and ate bratwurst.
Inside a covered stall, Pauline Rosenstock, a 23-year-old nurse from Uelzen, northern Germany, chose a more permanent memento: a tattoo.
“These are the ‘falling leaves of autumn’ that Taylor sings about in ‘All Too Well,'” he said, pointing to the design engraved near the fold of his left arm.
According to the Chamber of Commerce and Industry (IHK) of the North Westphalia region, the three concerts will be particularly profitable for the region’s retail, restaurants and hotels. The estimated 1,000 hotel rooms in Gelsenkirchen – which cost three times the usual price per night this week – have long been fully booked.
Jochen Grütters of the IHK, which is responsible for the Gelsenkirchen region, said data based on the spending habits of festival visitors suggests Swifties can spend between $110 and $220 per day on food and drink alone.
“The concerts are at the time of the summer holidays in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia and many families without tickets will definitely travel to Gelsenkirchen and Taylortown as a holiday,” Grütters said.
Ice cream shop owner Graziella Dell’Aquila, 58, created the Swiftkirchen special in honor of the singer. This mixture of strawberries, cream and white chocolate, decorated with edible glitter, gold and butterflies, has become quite popular.
“We sold five containers the day before the first concert,” he said. “Our ice cream machine in the back is working at a rapid pace.”
Among those roaming the streets of Gelsenkirchen this week are American fans who have planned their summer vacations around Swift’s European concerts — because they find that a few hundred dollars for airfare, hotel and a ticket here is more affordable than the skyrocketing prices of Taylor Swift tickets in the United States.
“Our tickets here were much cheaper than in the US, and we are happy to be traveling in Europe,” said McKenna Waldman, 29, a customer service manager from Wisconsin, as she waited outside the stadium with a friend on Wednesday.
Brad Davis, a 51-year-old real estate broker from North Carolina, traveled 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.
“This 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 ran a Facebook group to connect fans in preparation for the three concerts, had a much shorter journey. Munck is originally a “Gelsenkirchenerin,” and said she was proud to see her hometown listed alongside cities like London, Paris and Milan.
“This is definitely one of the least attractive corners of the Ruhr area,” she said, referring to the drab stretches of the city’s architecture, built from the rubble of World War II. “But this is where I come from. I don’t know it any other way.”
Julia Meya and Marius Rupiper, both 31 years old, helped organize the Taylor Town Market. “There is some truth in the negative comments about Gelsenkirchen,” Rupiper said. “The city is not doing well in many areas, and this is something that has always bothered us. We have both seen a lot of the world and still want to make a difference here.”
“But the response from local people has also been very positive,” Meya said. “Looking around and seeing the joy people have brings tears to my eyes.”
Swift isn’t the first global star to perform at the city’s Veltins Arena. The Rolling Stones, Bon Jovi, Bruce Springsteen and Metallica have all appeared here.
“What’s different this time is the fan base,” Rupiper said. “Maybe this is the start of something where the city can really play host to international stars when they come.”
Gelsenkirchen is perhaps the ultimate test of whether Swift can, as she sings, “light up the whole place.”
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