“Maybe it doesn’t even exist,” the US talk show host joked about Gelsenkirchen.
Three gigs are planned in Gelsenkirchen: Taylor Swift will perform live in the Veltins Arena on July 17th, 18th and 19th. Otherwise, only Hamburg and Munich will be able to enjoy global pop glamor at the end of July thanks to the US musician. The fact that the 34-year-old will play the most shows (i.e. three instead of two) at this location in Germany, while even the capital is being left out, is even a topic of conversation in the USA. In his current show, US TV presenter Jimmy Kimmel also talked about the place in the Ruhr area and made jokes at the expense of Gelsenkirchen.
“Nobody has ever heard of Gelsenkirchen”
The hook for the Gelsenkirchen bashing: In his show “Jimmy Kimmel Live” he lambasted Donald Trump, who, according to reports in the US “Rolling Stone”, is said to have claimed to be more famous than Taylor Swift. According to the former US President, his fans are also “more committed”. Kimmel now wanted to clearly contradict this and explained that Swift’s global influence even extends to a city that perhaps doesn’t really exist: Gelsenkirchen. Plus: In contrast to Trump’s rallies, their concerts aren’t even free. Swifties are therefore willing to pay three-digit sums to see the singer – even outside the United States, in places that are rather questionable in his eyes. Specifically, his swipe at the city with the 62,000-seat venue was: “And that even though no one has ever heard of Gelsenkirchen in Germany. Maybe it doesn’t even exist.”
See the recording of the show including the Gelsenkirchen diss here:
FC Schalke 04 answers Kimmel
FC Schalke 04 immediately responded to Kimmel’s diss via In a post they shared a video of roaring fans in the Veltins Arena and wrote: “THIS IS GELSENKIRCHEN!”
FC Schalke counters:
Later they loaded in one another post invited the US presenter to take a look at the Veltins Arena in person: “Joking aside, we would be happy to show you our home in the VELTINS Arena in Gelsenkirchen.”
If you don’t want to applaud the football club, but would rather experience Swift’s songs live, you can get an overview of all the concert dates for Germany here:
All of Taylor Swift’s Germany dates at a glance:
- July 17, 2024: Veltins Arena, Gelsenkirchen
- July 18, 2024: Veltins Arena, Gelsenkirchen
- 19. July 2024: Veltins Arena, Gelsenkirchen
- July 23, 2014: Volksparkstadion, Hamburg
- July 24, 2024: Volksparkstadion, Hamburg
- July 27, 2024: Olympic Stadium, Munich
- July 28, 2024: Olympic Stadium, Munich