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The German city of Gelsenkirchen, once synonymous with the country’s coal and steel industry, temporarily changed its name to “Swiftkirchen” in honour of the reigning queen of pop, Taylor Swift, who will stage three performances there this week. Since the beginning of July, Gelsenkirchen has put up 30 yellow city sign names with “Swiftkirchen” written on them as a way 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 thou…

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