When the City of Glendale, Arizona, Changed Its Name in Honor of Taylor Swift's Arrival

There was a time when Glendale, Arizona, was gearing up for an extraordinary event: the arrival of Taylor Swift for her highly anticipated Eras Tour. In a surprising move, the city had decided to temporarily change its name to 'Swift City' in honor of the pop sensation's imminent visit.

Declaring himself the head of Swift City, where the superstar was scheduled to begin her Eras Tour with sold-out shows, was Glendale Mayor Jerry P. Weiers. The mayor of the city of 248,000 people declared the temporary and merely symbolic change at a press conference. "And now therefore, I, Jerry P. Weiers, mayor of the city of Glendale, on behalf of our city council, do hereby proclaim that on March 17 and 18, 2023, the city of Glendale will be renamed Swift City. And all Swifties are encouraged to share their smiles that could light up this whole town on all the social media platforms because the best people in life are free,” as per Huff Post.

Swift's tour stopped in Glendale at the State Farm Arena for back-to-back performances before moving on to Las Vegas. Officials from Glendale informed Arizona's ABC-15 that each performance was anticipated to draw 70,000 attendees. “A lot of bars and restaurants in our area will be offering Taylor Swift-themed menu items,” a city employee and admirer Jessica Mensch told the outlet. “It’s not just a party in the stadium — it’s a party throughout our entire sports and entertainment district.” Swift's representatives apparently permitted Glendale to use her name and likeness while they worked on the name change at the State Farm Arena.

The superstar unveiled a brand-new tour-focused gateway on her official website on the same day that Glendale was designated as Swift City. This portal featured countdowns to every stop on the tour, a personalized playlist, access to the Eras Tour merchandise, and more. Along with Paramore, GAYLE opened the Arizona shows. She shared her response to the Anti-Hero singer's invitation to join the tour. “It just means the world to me and it just was really validating for me, and especially at a very overwhelming time. I had no clue what I was going to do this year. I was like, ‘Oh my God, I had the best year of my life. What am I going to do next year?’ And she was like, ‘Here’s something to add to your calendar.'” This was stated in an interview with Apple Music 1, as per Bill Board.

According to the mayor, Glendale is now a premier entertainment district thanks to the Swift City declaration. He exclaimed, "I couldn’t be more proud to be the mayor of the city that’s done such an incredible job." Swift's five-show Eras Tour came to a domestic halt in Los Angeles in August.