The city of Gelsenkirchen, historically known for its coal and steel industry in Germany, temporarily adopted "Swiftkirchen" to honor pop queen Taylor Swift, who will hold three performances there this week.
Since the beginning of July, Gelsenkirchen has put up 30 yellow city sign names with "Swiftkirchen" written on them to welcome the tens of thousands of arriving fans.
But many have since been vandalized or gone missing, leaving behind only a blank space.
"Some have already disappeared," said Sandra Falkenauer, head of city marketing, even though the signs are often hung quite high to prevent theft.
A schoolgirl had started the successful petition to briefly rename Gelsenkirchen, which was recently in the spotlight for being a Euro 2024 host city, for the duration of Swift's three concerts. However, the campaign was not met with enthusiasm by everyone.
Some signs were pasted over shortly after they were put up – with football stickers, for example. Videos on social media about the "Swiftkirchen" signs led to fiery debates in the comment sections, with some users saying that Gelsenkirchen had bigger issues to address than catering to a pop star's followers.
Gerne Gelsenkirchen, the city's marketing agency, told the critics to shake it off and noted that the city had not received "such positive media attention for a long time."
"This is simply a mega success. But now it's also up to you to make sure we present ourselves to the world properly! So join in and stop complaining! Be great hosts and stand by your hometown!" the agency posted on Facebook.
Gelsenkirchen is expecting around 200,000 fans for the concerts on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. It is the first time Swift has been in Germany on her Eras Tour. Further shows will take place in Hamburg and Munich.
