"Mayor Swiftie" renames Glendale "Swift City" amid anticipation for Swiftie siege.
Glendale Mayor Jerry Weiers, referred to as "Mayor Swiftie" by Glendale's Assistant Director of Communications Sue Breding at a press conference on March 13, signed a document "hereby declaring" Glendale be renamed to Swift City until March 18 in accordance with Swift's two-night stay at State Farm Stadium this weekend.
In the proclamation, Mayor Swiftie said Glendale is so "enchanted to meet (Swift)."
Breding said other names considered for Swift City were Taylor Town, Glendale (Taylor's Version), Swiftdale, and the City of Taylor Swift.
Swift is starting her U.S. tour in Glendale before the cruel summer. The tour, which is expected to be the highest grossing female artist tour of all time, could bring in a gold rush of $620 million for Swift.
Mayor Swiftie and council members said they wanted to do "something highly unusual" in a press release to bejewel the city in preparation for Swift.
Fans of Swift, also called Swifties, purchased over 2 million tickets from Ticketmaster on the first day they went on sale. Swiftie Anahita Talebi, a senior studying psychology and a member of The Taylor Swift Club at ASU, said getting tickets was already no easy feat and Swift's use of the different eras of her career helped draw an even wider audience.
"It's an interesting concept and everyone connects with a certain era in their own way," Talebi said. "People bought tickets for this reason and for that she has caused a high demand in tickets and has been breaking Ticketmaster."
One of the reasons for such high ticket demand is that Swift hasn't gone on tour since her Reputation Stadium Tour in 2018. Swiftie Sindhu Jayamani, a freshman studying medical studies, said the different genres Swift has tried has only shown people more of "the kind of power she has."
READ MORE: Ticketmaster troubles bring questions about the giant's partnership with ASU
"I think Taylor tried out different genres not just to give something different for her fans but also for her to explore what more she's capable of and how versatile her song writing capabilities are," Jayamani said.
Long story short, Swifties have taken over Arizona – from the University to Swift City.
Edited by Shane Brennan, Reagan Priest and Caera Learmonth.
Reach the reporter at alysa.horton@gmail.com and follow @alysa_horton on Twitter.
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Alysa is a senior studying journalism and mass communication with a minor in political science. This is her fifth semester with The State Press. She has also worked at The Arizona Republic.
