Please enable JS and disable any ad blocker where the far-right AfD party has made inroads His grandfather came from Turkey decades ago to work in the coal mines of the western German town of Gelsenkirchen says he understands the rise of the anti-immigration far-right AfD there Once a bastion of the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) in Germany's industrial heartland the town was a rare example of the Alternative for Germany (AFD) topping the vote outside its strongholds in the former East Germany Despite its designation as extremist by the country's intelligence services the AfD's growing strength poses an immediate challenge to incoming conservative chancellor Friedrich Merz In the doorway of the pizza delivery service where he works Mehmet -- who asked that his real name not be used -- puts the AfD's popularity in Gelsenkirchen down to immigration Opposite his workplace is a building housing many recent migrants from Romania and Bulgaria who Mehmet says typify the challenges in integrating new arrivals who are very different culturally," he said it's better to not leave home after 8 pm," Mehmet added making her way through town with a walking frame agreed that the town was not as secure as it used to be "I've had my purse stolen three times," she said adding that she no longer felt safe going out in the evenings Gelsenkirchen's former prosperity was built on the coal and steel industries as in cities and towns across the Ruhr region Gelsenkirchen was not able to reinvent itself as heavy industry dwindled It now has Germany's highest unemployment rate Half of all children are at risk of poverty Its population has fallen from 400,000 in the early 1960s to just 272,000 now 75,000 of whom do not have German nationality When Germany lifted employment restrictions on Bulgarians and Romanians in 2014 many of those who moved to Gelsenkirchen ended up in cheap but neglected apartment buildings and struggled to find work "They don't have any chance of finding a job and so it becomes difficult for everyone to live together," said the town's SPD MP Markus Toens who won direct election rather than the party list vote won by the AfD Romanians and Bulgarians have the same rights to welfare support as Germans and Toens would like to see the rules on this toughened at a national level which won just over 20 percent of the vote nationwide and will be the biggest opposition party in the next parliament has been quick to capitalise on people's frustrations Its lead candidate in municipal elections in September "Our success is a reflection of the fact that people are unhappy," Emmerich told AFP also said the town "hasn't been able to cope with integrating" recent immigrants "there were seven immigrant children out of 25 The town has a long history of immigration from Poles to Turks such as Mehmet's ancestors and more recently refugees fleeing wars in Syria The latest waves of immigration have coincided with a worsening in the job market "There are barely any good jobs left in Gelsenkirchen," said Darko Manojlovic president of the works council at the BP refinery that employs 2,000 people in the area as the British energy giant says it plans to reduce its refining activities in Germany Your browser is out of date and potentially vulnerable to security risks.We recommend switching to one of the following browsers: We use cookies to collect and analyse information on our site's performance and to enable the site to function Cookies also allow us and our partners to show you relevant ads when you visit our site and other 3rd party websites You can choose to allow all cookies by clicking ‘Allow all’ or manage them individually by clicking ‘Manage cookie preferences,’ where you will also find more information BP Europa SE today announced its intention to market its Ruhr Oel GmbH – BP Gelsenkirchen operation in Germany for potential sale Its assets include the bp refinery in Gelsenkirchen and DHC Solvent Chemie GmbH in Mülheim an der Ruhr bp press office, London: +44 20 7496 4076, bppress@bp.com In order to utilize the ‘safe harbor’ provisions of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (the ‘PSLRA’) and the general doctrine of cautionary statements bp is providing the following cautionary statement Connecting decision makers to a dynamic network of information Bloomberg quickly and accurately delivers business and financial information A BP oil refinery in Gelsenkirchen.  as the company scales back operations in the country due to high costs The timing of the handover to a new owner will depend on regulatory approvals and operations will continue as usual during the sales process Schoolgirl Aleshanee Westhoff shows a “Swiftkirchen” town sign in honor of musician Taylor Swift in Gelsenkirchen The Swifties are about to take over the German city of Gelsenkirchen where American superstar Taylor Swift is set to give three concerts of her Eras Tour later this month the city renamed itself “Swiftkirchen” — at least temporarily to welcome the tens of thousands of fans who are expected to come for the Eras Tour shows on July 17 BERLIN (AP) — The Swifties are about to take over the German city formerly known as Gelsenkirchen where American superstar Taylor Swift is set to give three Eras Tour concerts later this month A yellow city sign with the new name — which translates roughtly to “Swift’s Church” — was unveiled Tuesday by Swift fan Aleshanee Westhoff who suggested the name to the city’s mayor and started a petition a few weeks ago Mayor Karin Welge thanked the teenager for her “great idea” in a letter accepting the proposal The Swiftie sign has been emblazoned with a pink portrait of the pop icon and is located in the city center Several more signs “at highly frequented locations in Gelsenkirchen” will be put up in the coming days city spokesman Markus Schwardtmann told dpa Gelsenkirchen is a former coal mining town that’s never recovered from the decline of its main industry The Ruhr city is known for its soccer team and a massive stadium that occasionally attracts international entertainers like Swift And there’s more to come in Germany’s Swiftie town singer will also receive her own stone on the Gelsenkirchen Walk of Fame alongside local notables like soccer coach Rudi Assauer and writer Ilse Kibgis the city will host open-air parties with karaoke performances A “Taylor Swift streetcar” is already up and running Further fan attractions are being planned but kept secret for the time being “There will be lots of big and small surprises so that the Swifties have plenty to discover in Gelsenkirchen,” Schwardtmann said Swift’s concerts in Gelsenkirchen are sold out and will take place at the Veltins-Arena on Schalke stadium Further Eras Tour shows are planned for Hamburg and Munich To start the final acoustic set in Gelsenkirchen, Germany, Taylor Swift asked stadium workers to help a fan "Welcome to the acoustic section," she said Friday and before the crowd finished their applause she uttered everybody who works here has been taking such great care of everybody Swift has paused 17 out of 35 European Eras Tour shows to ask stadium workers to help fans After making sure the Veltins-Arena staff helped the fan on the floor Swift explained the rules to the acoustic section a tradition where she plays a selection of songs on the guitar and on the piano "Sometimes when you guys sing really loud it makes me feel like I chose the right songs," she said the singer combined "Paper Rings" from "Lover" and "Stay Stay Stay" from "Red (Taylor's Version)" on the guitar She excitedly expressed that the audience was singing so loud mid-mashup More: Taylor Swift adds surprise songs to every Eras Tour setlist. See all the songs she's played so far she slowed down the tempo with a mixture of lines from "It's Time To Go" from "Evermore" and "Better Man" from "Red (Taylor's Version)." Swift is halfway through her German shows with four more concerts in Hamburg and Munich next week Don't miss any Taylor Swift news; sign up for the free, weekly newsletter This Swift Beat.  Follow Taylor Swift reporter Bryan West on Instagram, TikTok and X as @BryanWestTV The move is part of bp's strategy to realign its business portfolio with the changing energy landscape BP Europa is seeking potential buyers for the BP Gelsenkirchen refining site in Germany and related refinery assets includes the BP refinery in Gelsenkirchen and DHC Solvent Chemie in Mülheim an der Ruhr BP intends to finalise sales agreements later this year with completion subject to approvals from regulatory and governmental authorities BP EVP for customers & products Emma Delaney said: “bp needs to continually manage its global portfolio as we position to grow as a simpler we have concluded that a new owner would be better suited for the site to take it forward We are convinced that the refinery can unlock its full potential under new ownership.”  The move is part of bp’s broader strategy to reshape its business portfolio in response to the evolving energy landscape bp has undertaken several projects to modernise the infrastructure at the Gelsenkirchen refinery Don’t let policy changes catch you off guard Stay proactive with real-time data and expert analysis The improvements include upgrading the power grid and setting up an independent steam supply ensuring the site’s capability to meet the demands of modern refinery operations The transformation of the Gelsenkirchen site is aimed at reducing the complexity and processing capacity of the refinery the refinery retains the ability to process a variety of crude oils from across the globe It produces high-quality fuels and has the potential to manufacture biofuels and process recycled plastics aligning with bp’s strategic shift towards more sustainable energy solutions BP Europa chief executive Patrick Wendeler added: “With significant investments we have been able to substantially modernise our site in recent years Due to its current production capabilities and its location – in the heart of Europe and particularly within the chemical cluster of North Rhine-Westphalia – it offers significant potential to a new owner supported by a highly qualified team.”  Give your business an edge with our leading industry insights View all newsletters from across the GlobalData Media network The Football Supporters Association (FSA) have criticised the “chaotic transport failures” and “negligent crowd management” that impacted England fans for Sunday night’s European Championship match against Serbia in Gelsenkirchen The FSA said they were “dismayed” by the situation faced by supporters many of whom faced up to a three-hour wait after the match is over 6km from the Gelsenkirchen’s train station and the vast majority of supporters in the 62,000-capacity stadium were reliant on public transport services to travel to and from the match from the city centre The FSA say they had raised concerns over the stadium’s suitability for a late-night match and its ability to transport such a high volume of supporters many of whom were based in neighbouring cities and reliant on returning via Gelsenkirchen’s main train station They say that the transport system from fan zones to the stadium was “chaotic with insufficient capacity” with the shuttle service starting later than scheduled and often already being at capacity due to fans travelling from the neighbouring city of Essen The FSA said transport from Gelsenkirchen’s city centre to the stadium had “not enough capacity poor queue management and communication and severe delays to services.” It is highlighted how those with accessibility issues were not allowed to stop at the relevant tram stop designed for their needs instead having to swap trams to return to a suitable station the FSA cite “dangerous levels of overcrowding”  and waits of up to three hours after the match had finished to leave the stadium’s vicinity but added that the behaviour of England fans was exemplary throughout while it will host the round-of-16 stage game between the winner of Group C and a third-placed team from Group D Oh hi, Travis Kelce Fans noticed the Kansas City tight end in a dark tee and white cap watching the Eras Tour from a suite inside the Veltins-Arena on Wednesday one night in Dublin and two nights in Amsterdam It's possible that Kelce will make a second onstage cameo in Gelsenkirchen He loves to make not-so-subtle teases on his podcast "New Heights." After carrying Swift during her "Tortured Poets" set on the final night in London, the football player told his brother Jason and Swifties "You guys will have to keep showing up to the Eras Tour to see if I pop out of the stage or whatnot." Although the singer has 35 more concerts in 10 cities the tight end is due back at training camp for the Chiefs from July 21 to Aug and there is a preseason game during her Wembley Stadium shows in the United Kingdom thank you very much," Swift said holding her guitar before singing her song "Betty." the singer-songwriter pointed down the catwalk "Just right there," she said to stadium staff before sing-talking "Gonna wait until I see that it's happened." "The incredible crew at this stadium are so quick getting to you guys really really fast and helping out to make sure that you have water and make sure you're cared for," she said of the Veltins-Arena staff "I always really appreciate that when we play at a stadium and they really care about the people who are coming to the concerts so that is just incredible." As the staff approached the fan in need of help Swift went on with the Eras Tour show saying "Anyway this is a story I wrote about a girl named 'Betty.'" Thirty creative and fun yellow "Swiftkirchen" signs are scattered around Gelsenkirchen The colorful signs have a printed magenta outline of Swift's Eras Tour poster photo with classic Swift iconography (hearts The bright idea came from teenager Aleshanee Westhoff from Emmerich. In an Instagram video by the 25th-most populous German city the diehard Swiftie submitted a petition to temporarily change the city's name "It’s a great idea to temporarily rename Gelsenkirchen to 'Swiftkirchen,'" Mayor Karin Welge said in a German letter to Westhoff "which is why I'm particularly pleased that you can experience the short-term 'renaming' of Gelsenkirchen." The name "Swiftkirchen" roughly translates to "Swift Church." Swift will perform to 60,000 screaming fans inside the Veltins-Arena on Wednesday The singer-songwriter has a total of seven German shows Next week she will head to Hamburg and Munich We've seen Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift spend a bunch of time together in recent months Swift continues her international leg of the Eras Tour so you might wonder: given that Chiefs training camp is about to start but Kelce may not have to report just yet Germany for three days to see her perform again It feels like it's just too close to having to report to training camp so we'll guess that he probably won't be there The Chiefs tight end was spotted at Wednesday's show after all More Taylor Swift!C.J. Gardner-Johnson takes shot at Taylor Swift fans with vulgar hoodie at Eagles Super Bowl parade Saquon Barkley said that he didn't understand why fans booed Taylor Swift at the Super Bowl 8 Super Bowl winners (laugh it up, Tom Brady) and losers (Patrick Mahomes, oof) FILE - Schoolgirl Aleshanee Westhoff shows a “Swiftkirchen” town sign in honor of musician Taylor Swift in Gelsenkirchen which temporarily put up signs renaming itself “Swiftkirchen” before the American superstar played three concerts there in mid-July says it received 1,400 bids for the signs from Germany and abroad The highest offer was 3,000 euros ($3,245) and the 20 highest bidders will be informed by email adding that a total sum for the auction will be announced once all payments have been received It said one of the winning bids came from outside Germany The proceeds will go to a center for girls a food bank for children and a shelter for women in Gelsenkirchen Another “Swiftkirchen” sign is now on display at Germany’s museum of post-World War II history in Bonn a traditional heavyweight currently in the second division which sometimes attracts international entertainers like Swift The minor gaff came at the end of her first night in Gelsenkirchen Germany — where she is set to play two more nights this week Taylor Swift's Eras Tour continued its international journey on Thursday night in Germany (afternoon in the United States) with the second of three shows in Gelsenkirchen. The now 14-time Grammy winner will be touring almost non-stop for the entire year, and at each show she adds two "surprise songs" to her 44-song MORE: Travis Kelce couldn't stop dancing to Taylor Swift's 'Lavender Haze' while teeing off at the American Century Championship Swift continued the double mashups that she loves so much she played "Speak Now" from Speak Now combined with "Hey Stephen" from Fearless Swift went with a mashup of "This Is Me Trying" from Folkloreand "Labyrinth" from Midnights Swift has one more show in Gelsenkirchen before heading to Hamburg C.J. Gardner-Johnson takes shot at Taylor Swift fans with vulgar hoodie at Eagles Super Bowl parade According to BP the process of finding a suitable buyer has already begun and the company is aiming for purchase agreements in 2025 the timeline for finalizing the sale and transferring the assets to a new owner will be subject to regulatory and government approvals the refinery will continue to operate as usual commented: “BP needs to continually manage its global portfolio as we position to grow as a simpler we have concluded that a new owner would be better suited for the site to take it forward.” BP said that it has carried out numerous projects to modernize the infrastructure of the refinery in Gelsenkirchen in recent years the renewal of the electricity network and the establishment of an independent steam supply produce high-quality fuels and also has the potential to manufacture biofuels and process recycled plastics we have been able to substantially modernize our site in recent years Due to its current production capabilities and its location – in the heart of Europe and particularly within the chemical cluster of North Rhine-Westphalia – it offers significant potential to a new owner supported by a highly qualified team.” and strategic direction in an exclusive CHEManager International interview CHEManager Innovation Pitch supports innovation in the chemistry and life sciences start-up scene and start-ups to present their companies to the industry The temporary name change comes ahead of the “Me!” singer-songwriter’s upcoming trio of concerts in the city A city in Germany will temporarily be renamed after singer-songwriter Taylor Swift ahead of her upcoming Eras Tour stop in the country the city will temporarily go by “Swiftkirchen.” “The city of Gelsenkirchen is looking forward to welcoming U.S. mega-star Taylor Swift and the tens of thousands of Swifties who are expected to attend the three concerts in the arena from July 17th to 19th,” mayor Karin Welge wrote in a Tuesday statement Swift’s trio of Gelsenkirchen concerts are set for July 17-19 The city’s name change was the result of a suggestion from a fan named Aleshanee Westhoff after they started a petition and reached out to the mayor “It’s a great idea to temporarily rename Gelsenkirchen to ‘Swiftkirchen’ so I’m particularly pleased that you can experience the short-term ‘renaming’ of Gelsenkirchen live and up close in Gelsenkirchen today,” Welge said in her response letter to Westhoff the city’s public relations department shared that it will be “installing many more signs in highly frequented places in Gelsenkirchen in the coming days.” Welge said she’s overjoyed by the idea I am of course very happy that Taylor Swift currently the most successful singer in the world will be performing three times in Gelsenkirchen,” she said “International attention will therefore be back on our city.” Other amendments around the city include a “Taylor Swift tram,” a “Taylor Town” party and a stone for Swift on Gelsenkirchen’s Walk of Fame People was first to report the news Taylor Swift's Eras Tour continued its international journey on Wednesday night in Germany (afternoon in the United States) with the first of three shows in Gelsenkirchen. The now 14-time Grammy winner will be touring almost non-stop for the entire year, and at each show she adds two "surprise songs" to her 44-song she played "Superstar" from Fearless combined with "Invisible String" from Evermore Swift went with a mashup of "Slut!" from 1989 (Taylor's Version) and "False God" from Lover Swift has two more shows in Gelsenkirchen before heading to Hamburg SWIFTKIRCHEN (WKRC) - A German town has renamed themselves after worldwide superstar Taylor Swift in anticipation of her show in the town's arena that when major "Swiftie" Aleshanee Westhoff started a humorous petition about changing the town's name to "Swiftkirchen" to honor the artist "It's a great idea to temporarily rename Gelsenkirchen to 'Swiftkirchen'," in a statement on the city's website (that was translated into English) Westhoff was given the honor of installing the first "Swiftkirchen" street sign which is decorated with a picture of the singer and a few stickers evoking her songs The head of the city's public relations department said "We will be installing many more signs in highly frequented places in Gelsenkirchen in the coming days." for the Swifties that aren't able to attend the concerts the city will be hosting an outdoor party for the singer The city of Gelsenkirchen is excited about the public attention that Taylor Swift will bring their city especially right after they hosted multiple EURO 2024 games The Free Lions group described fans being crammed on to trams, forced to walk for miles and stranded in the city some three hours after the final whistle. It said it was “dismayed” and called on Uefa to guarantee sufficient transport arrangements to prevent similar incidents from happening again. Read more“To see fans stranded in Gelsenkirchen Hauptbahnhof [main train station] three hours after the game has finished due to transport problems at a major tournament is quite simply ridiculous,” the group said in a statement “Ahead of the tournament we made it clear to Uefa and the authorities that many, many thousands of England fans would be travelling to Gelsenkirchen from the outer towns and cities in North Rhine-Westphalia and that transport back to Gelsenkirchen Hauptbahnhof from Arena AufSchalke had to be the biggest priority “If Uefa are going to allocate a 9pm kick-off slot on a Sunday evening to any venue then they need to guarantee that transport arrangements are in place that allow all fans despite facing the consequences of such inadequate provision and negligent crowd management the thousands of England fans present remained overwhelmingly calm thus helping to avoid more serious consequences,” Free Lions said Gelsenkirchen officials defended the setup of course it isn’t possible to get everyone to where they want to go in the shortest time,” the city official Ludger Wolterhoff said “I think we must reflect on whether we could still accelerate something but I will say very clearly that … we took a look every 15 minutes at the situation with people leaving and reacted.” Free daily newsletterKick off your evenings with the Guardian's take on the world of football Wolterhoff said the prospects of improving transport arrangements for future matches including a last-16 tie for the winners of England’s group “I don’t think you will be able to significantly further accelerate such a departure situation structurally,” he said That’s what many people most associate with Germany, but so far at the 2024 European Championship none of those cliches have been proven true Tournament organisers have struggled with crowd control outside stadiums Fans have endured miserable conditions on the way to and from games Metro and rail services within the host cities have failed under the extra demand It is not what the rest of Europe expected to find The city is used to serving big football crowds with Bayern Munich selling out their 80,000-capacity Allianz Arena game after game everything works well enough and supporters find the areas they need On Friday night, it could not have been more different. The line that runs out of Munich and up to Frottmaning ground to a halt. Trains stopped at platforms and in tunnels for long periods and grew fuller. Munich has a warm climate, especially in June, and it was to the great credit of the Germany and Scotland supporters that even though they were jammed up against each other Outside the Allianz Arena — in scenes that have been repeated at other games played since — it was chaos fans are signposted towards certain entrances depending on where in the stadium they are sitting creating one big queue in front of the ground many fans had no choice but to physically push through the crowds to find their entrance much to the annoyance of others who misinterpreted what was happening which resulted in a few fleeting flare-ups Organisation around Bundesliga games is generally excellent across the country would also have had prior experience of Allianz Arena before and yet this was wildly different The first game of a major tournament often brings opening-night wrinkles and issues but what happened in Munich was strange — and it was just the start On Sunday night, England played Serbia in Gelsenkirchen Bad stories have emerged from before and after the game There was gridlock and congestion on the tram service from the station to Arena AufSchalke to the extent that some fans chose to walk the entire way instead — about an hour and a half from the city’s central station England’s 1-0 victory ended up being a sub-plot to stories of crying children an England fan who follows the team home and abroad did take public transport to the ground and said overcrowding at the station was so “dangerous” that “if you were stood at the platform edge you were using your entire body weight to stop yourself being pushed onto the track” He said there were “no crowd control measures in place at all” England fan group criticises 'serious issues in Gelsenkirchen' over Euro 2024 game After the game, there was more chaos. Another England fan, Alex described scenes at the main train station as “absolute bedlam” even hours after the final whistle He had decided to take public transport back while another friend walked — arriving half an hour before him “I couldn’t believe how busy the main station was,” he said “When we heard the platform announcement for our train people ran at full pace to reach it — I can’t imagine what it would have been like to take children to the game We eventually got back to Dusseldorf (in theory 30 minutes away by intercity train) after 2am.” Rich Nelson was also in Gelsenkirchen on Sunday night with one of his friends “Trains were coming to different parts of the platform with no announcement so you had hundreds of people running to squeeze on Platforms were altered so Essen trains were coming through when announced as going to Dusseldorf and one train looked like one of the old slam-door British Rail ones “We somehow managed to squeeze on thanks to a few people moving and holding doors but the train took an hour to get to Dusseldorf The trains have been the poorest and least reliable part of the weekend for us ran on time and despite us booking ramps (for the wheelchair) Deutsche Bahn staff weren’t interested in helping last night.” Gelsenkirchen is one of the smallest Euro 2024 host cities It is an industrial town which has relatively little nightlife or attraction to travelling supporters and fewer hotel rooms than most It was inevitable that an enormous stress would be placed on its transport systems on the day of the game itself Deutsche Bahn (DB) is the company that runs Germany’s privately-operated Once the gold standard of rail travel in Europe today it is far from that peak and has been for some time While people from outside Germany have been aghast at the delays those who live in the country are all too familiar with DB’s struggles Trains change destinations without warning Connections are missed and people are left stranded Sit in a DB carriage when a delay is announced and pay attention to the glances that Germans exchange and how they roll their eyes; it has become a punchline and while some of the issues at Euro 2024 are a surprise the endless delays and disruptions on the train network are not among them It is a complicated problem without an obvious remedy The services that DB provides are enshrined within the German constitution The federal government has a responsibility to maintain a service that serves the common good — referring both to its cost and its reliability more than 80 per cent of trains arrived on time the punctuality rate had fallen below 60 per cent beneath the 70 per cent target DB has publicly committed to certainly the one most repeated in German media is that in 2022 more than 33 per cent of all long-distance trains arrived late to their destination (defined as at least six minutes late) In response to a request for comment for this article a DB spokesperson said the company was “doing everything we can to get soccer fans to their games on time and stress-free” They said the rail system was “at absolute full capacity right now” and DB was “essentially running every train we have” a non-profit interest group for the promotion and improvement of rail transport says the problems we are seeing are a legacy of underfunding that goes back almost 30 years “What we are experiencing now is the heavy burden on a long-neglected railway — with growing traffic at the same time,” she says “Past governments have always practised a road-first policy so that was where the majority of the state’s investments went That has changed with the present government But the need for investment is now so high that it will take years to improve the current state of the infrastructure there is a significant lack of drivers almost everywhere in the country (not only for trains but also for buses and lorries) A lack of drivers often means a dissatisfying frequency of services This gets very obvious when more people than usual use public transport.” In a network status report published in March 2023 they described it as being “prone to failure” switches and level crossings that were in inadequate condition Anxious Germany a nation in need of a summer fairy tale The size of the network — in terms of track length — has also been shrinking over the past 30 years the number of services operating on it has been steadily increasing The effect is more and more stress on a network that is suffering from a lack of investment around half the switches on the network have been removed which makes it harder for trains to pass one another making it more important that everything runs on time and more impactful when it does not There are other inconveniences and antagonisms throughout the network but there are still shortages of personnel across the network Station PA systems are a more minor nuisance While information is almost always provided in German and English the acoustics can be poor and the announcements can be difficult to hear or when platform alterations are being read out that is particularly difficult for people unfamiliar with the network A more macro problem is the sheer size of the company relates to whether DB should be broken up to make it more manageable but also to introduce more competition to Germany’s rail services It’s certainly not difficult to see how a cycle of failure has developed or why it has been so dysfunctional during the current tournament it is a problem that pre-dates Euro 2024 by decades and will continue for many years While big investment projects are now underway including building new lines and adding many more connections between major German cities the result is a huge burden on the taxpayer and more disruption as a result of the projects themselves are clearly doing their best under trying circumstances and working extremely hard to help people While there have been issues with crowding in the fan zones a lot of thought has evidently gone into providing supporters with entertainment around the games people enjoyed watching the games on an array of vast screens with activities and live music to entertain children and families between matches Given how much of an effect they are currently having on the tournament (Top photo: Simon Stacpoole/Offside/Offside via Getty Images) Eight arrests were made following clashes ahead of England’s Euro 2024 opening game against Serbia The build-up to the Group C fixture in Gelsenkirchen was marred by reports of violence in the city ahead of the match Footage emerged that appeared to show a number of supporters involved in a mass brawl outside a restaurant Chairs and other furniture were thrown before local police stepped in to defuse tensions Local police indicated that the incident involved fans from both England and Serbia and later confirmed that eight people — seven Serbians and one English citizen — were subsequently taken into custody while a criminal complaint has been filed for grievous bodily harm They also confirmed — contrary to some social media reports — that no Albanian citizens have been connected to the incident UK authorities have since confirmed that a 39-year-old from Bolton has been detained upon his return from Germany His passport has been retained by police and he will appear at Manchester and Salford Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday 18 June for a civil football banning order hearing Germany has stepped up its security efforts for the tournament with 2.7 million fans set to attend games across 10 stadiums together with a further 12 million in fan zones Earlier on Sunday a man was shot after threatening police with a hammer in an incident close to a Euro 2024 fan park in St Pauli A German city is preparing to celebrate the Eras Tour by temporarily renaming itself after Taylor Swift Ahead of the singer’s three July concerts Gelsenkirchen has taken on the moniker Swiftkirchen which translates to “Swift’s Church.” Swift’s popular global tour will arrive in the city formerly known as Gelsenkirchen on July 17 and 19 at the Veltins-Arena on Schalke stadium The idea to rename the city was suggested by local fan Aleshanee Westhoff who petitioned Mayor Karin Welge a few weeks ago, according to AP Westhoff was part of the unveiling of a new town sign on Ebertstraße earlier this week “It’s a great idea to temporarily rename Gelsenkirchen to ‘Swiftkirchen,’ and I am especially pleased that you can witness the temporary ‘renaming’ of Gelsenkirchen live today.” A post shared by Gerne Gelsenkirchen (@gernegelsenkirchen) Gelsenkirchen will continue its transformation in over the next few weeks leading up to the concerts Several more signs “at highly frequented locations in Gelsenkirchen” will be put up in the coming days, according to city spokesman Markus Schwardtmann Swift will receive a stone on the Gelsenkirchen Walk of Fame and during her concerts the city will host open-air parties with karaoke performances dubbed “Taylor-Swift-Tram,” is running “There will be lots of big and small surprises so that the Swifties have plenty to discover in Gelsenkirchen,” Schwardtmann said Swit is currently on the European leg of the Eras Tour, which recently touched down in London for a series of celeb-packed shows The singer also took the opportunity to bring her boyfriend Travis Kelce on stage during her third and final Eras concert at Wembley Stadium in June During the intro to “I Can Do It With a Broken Heart,” Kelce appeared as one of her dancers and carried her to the couch during the vaudeville-styled segment Kelce later revealed that he jokingly floated the idea of making an appearance during the 1989 portion of the show which got the wheels turning in the singer’s mind as she asked him: “Would you seriously be up for doing something like that?” I’ve seen the show enough — might as well put me to work here,’” Kelce recalled telling Swift He initially imagined himself emerging on a bike in 1989 but they determined that would be a safety hazard for the band and dancers “she found the perfect part of the show for me to come in.” He noted that it was an “honour” to stand beside a “true showman” like her From Rolling Stone. Rolling Stone UK is published by Stream Publishing Ltd Julia Hunt is a freelance Newsweek reporter based in the UK. Her focus is reporting on entertainment. She has extensively covered pop culture and the world of showbiz. Julia joined Newsweek as a freelancer in 2024. She studied literature at university. Languages: English. You can get in touch with Julia by emailing j.hunt@newsweek.com either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content Newsweek is recapping every show Taylor Swift has performed on the Eras Tour Police in Germany arrested a man on suspicion of stalking Taylor Swift as her Eras Tour arrived in the country The man was detained after he attempted to enter the singer's concert in Gelsenkirchen on July 17 the first of her three tour stops in the country Few details were given but reports at the time suggested that the man—who did have a ticket for the gig—was stopped as he headed into the Veltins Arena It's thought police responded following information from event organizers taking around 60,000 enthralled fans through the eras of her life and career each night Gelsenkirchen was transformed for her visit hanging a huge yellow sign with a picture of Swift in pink It also changed its name for the duration of the Eras Tour visit calling itself Swiftkirchen while the star was in town Posting on Instagram as she left Gelsenkirchen and headed onto Hamburg Swift wrote: "Those 3 Gelsenkirchen crowds were AMAZING and tons of DIY 'willow' orbs made out of balloons + phone flashlights She also took the opportunity to thank fans for their response to her latest album which she unveiled as she was on the road with Eras "I also wanted to say to everyone who's supported The Tortured Poets Department I am completely blown away by what you've done - it stayed at #1  for the first 12 weeks of its release and that's never happened to an album of mine before now that we've officially kicked off our shows in Germany I can't wait to see you all in Hamburg next!" July 17: "Superstar"/"Invisible String" and "Slut!"/"False God" July 18: "Speak Now"/"Hey Stephen" and "This Is Me Trying"/"Labyrinth" July 19: "Paper Rings"/"Stay Stay Stay" and "It's Time to Go"/"Better Man" Learn more about all the record-breaking, sentimental and just downright hilarious moments from Taylor Swift's Eras Tour with Newsweek's interactive timeline and map here Were you at any of Taylor Swift's Gelsenkirchen shows Tell us your favorite moment in the comments Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground Newsletters in your inbox See all Jul 22, 2024Taylor Swift was once again forced to put her performance on hold during a recent incident at the Eras Tour she had a strong message for those working at the stadium The superstar was ready to start her acoustic set on the final night of her three-concert stint in Gelsenkirchen, Germany, when she noticed something amiss with members of the crowd and quickly called for someone to come to their aid, as seen in a video uploaded to TikTok by one fan named Dario who captioned it, "Mother is mothering she’s really the best ✌🏽." She did indeed play the part of a parental figure as she stepped up to the microphone and said "We just need some assistance and help right there," pointing out to a spot in front of her.  making sure to catch the attention of a member of security "They just need some help right there Before beginning the first of the two surprise songs the "Karma" songstress took another moment to recognize the employees of the stadium telling the crowd that the venue had been "amazing" for the duration of her stay "Everybody who works here has really been taking such good care of everybody gushing, "Everyone who works in this stadium is amazing," after an emergency in the crowd during one of her Dublin concerts.  Of course, she's not afraid to call them out when they're not acting to her standards, either, as she proved when she told one security guard to leave her fans alone in the middle of performing "Bad Blood." Next: Fans Joke Taylor Swift Was 'a Bit Out of It' as She Forgets to Sing Into Her Microphone in Latest 'Errors Tour' Moment FILE - Taylor Swift performs at San Siro stadium in Milan Spectators film with their smartphones during singer Taylor Swift’s concert in the Veltins Arena in Gelsenkirchen German police said Thursday that they detained a suspected stalker ahead of the first of three shows by Taylor Swift in the western city of Gelsenkirchen had a ticket to Swift’s concert at Gelsenkirchen’s Veltins-Arena on Wednesday because an initial investigation couldn’t entirely rule out a risk he was detained during entry checks to the event Police said the man had made threats against Swift and her partner on social media They said he had been detained following tips from organizers of the event The American superstar has shows in Gelsenkirchen on Wednesday Thursday and Friday as part of her Eras Tour A local court ordered the suspected stalker kept in detention until Saturday They added that there was no danger at any point to Swift or to the audience Swift plans concerts in two other German cities Four years after the release of their seventeenth studio album The iconic band kicked off their “Power Up” tour last night (May 17) at the Veltins-Arena in Gelsenkirchen This marks the band’s first tour in eight years and follows their 2023 appearance at the Power Up Festival in Indio The band has enlisted Chris Chaney to take over bass duty for Cliff Williams and Matt Laug will continue on as drummer after making his debut at Power Trip So that leaves the anchors Angus Young (guitar) and Stevie Young (rhythm guitar) propelling the legendary train The legendary rockers put together a career-spanning setlist Veltins-Arena in Gelsenkirchen as they get their long-awaited European tour underway They kicked things off with classics like “If You Want Blood (You’ve Got It)” and “Back In Black.” The 24-song setlist explored every corner of AC/DC’s discography as the veteran band showed no signs of slowing down Albums like T.N.T and Powerage came into play with performances of “High Voltage” and “Riff Raff.” The tour’s namesake was given a similarly small role with only two tracks (“Demon Fire” and “Shot In The Dark”) being performed The first half of AC/DC’s discography is home to some of the most innovative rock music in history and they didn’t hold any of it back last night Long-time fans should be overjoyed at the sight of this setlist Songs from Back in Black took up six of the 24 slots with hits like “You Shook Me All Night Long,” “Hells Bells,” and “Shoot to Thrill.” Iconic songs from albums like Highway To Hell and Let There Be Rock rounded out the setlist before the two-song encore with “T.N.T” and “For Those Who Are About To Rock (We Salute You).”  The band will spend a second night at Veltins-Arena before heading to Italy Δdocument.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value" Diesel Market Analysis: Industry Market Size Copyright © ChemAnalyst - 2020 | Terms & Conditions | Privacy Policy The Serbia game has been labelled high risk amid fears of violence – but many say English hooliganism is in the past From a trestle table at the front of his small white marquee on the city’s central Heinrich König Platz Schellhase is handing out a host of freebie pamphlets and Uefa-branded pens this weekend A social worker whose speciality is helping the hardcore “ultra” fans of the Bundesliga club Schalke Schellhase is one of a small army of observers in the city tasked by local authorities with sounding the alarm at the first sign of trouble before England’s game against Serbia on Sunday evening there were four England fans having a drink over there last night,” said Schellhase’s ­colleague More than 30,000 England fans – only 20,000 of whom are believed to have tickets – are expected in Gelsenkirchen this weekend, along with a further 10,000 Serbians, for the game that is making the organisers more nervous than any other The tie was designated as “high risk” soon after it was drawn given the reputation of the two fan bases, with the police last week warning that up to 500 Serbian hooligans bent on violence could be on their way Serbia’s open training session had to be halted on Thursday when pyrotechnics were launched at the police after security guards had stopped a young fan from getting on the pitch the Serbian state has been accused in recent years of coopting them to attack LGBT protesters and breach the Kosovo-Serbia ­border crossing It is considered likely there will be some from Serbia out to cause trouble suggested during a press conference on Friday that one imponderable remained: the ­modern-day England fan There is now an untested generation of England fans who were teenagers at the last European tournament in 2016 “And today these fans are in their mid-20s so they are at a stage where they might also switch to becoming part of an aggressive camp of fans it makes it difficult for us to predict exactly what will happen,” Both said That there is any question over how a cohort of England fans might react to provocation – or indeed the opportunity to cause trouble themselves – is testament to the revolution in the behaviour of England fans in the last two decades Once famously the carriers of the “English disease”, whose symptoms included urinating on and then trashing city centre bars, those travelling with England were awarded “fans of the tournament” at the last international football event in Germany Enjoying a beer outside Cafe Eis on Heinrich König Platz one of the many shameful ­chapters in the sorry story of English football when the city’s port hosted three days of violence around an England tie with Tunisia “The England fans then are not the England fans now,” he said “There will always be some idiots but it isn’t anything like it was.” Brown and his son “I’ve never seen any trouble with England,” Jacob said a few warning signs to keep the German police guessing A downward trend since 2013 in the number of arrests at domestic football games in England and Wales has been sharply reversed post-Covid with the number now at the heights of a decade ago there were also 1,624 football banning orders in force which is an increase of 24% compared with the year before The local church in Gelsenkirchen is kitted out with inflatable footballs to mark the England v Serbia match Photograph: Thanassis Stavrakis/APThen there were chaotic scenes at the final of the last Euros at Wembley “I’m going to paraphrase Martin Luther King: ‘Happy people don’t riot’,” said Dr Mark Doidge exercise and health sciences at Loughborough University “We’re in an election cycle where the parties are not really talking about what’s positive it’s more about just: how do we deal with the crumbling infrastructure “These young men are often going to be the ones who were at school when Covid was happening One of the positives of football is that it gives you a sense of belonging But then it can spill over into other things like violence.” who has advised the Home Office on hooliganism said he believed the authorities were getting the situation under control at home and that the German police response would be key on Sunday He said: “It tends to be poor policing that leads to mass disorder Even if you’ve got 100 Serbian hooligans looking to confront English fans they then have got to get through Germany to Gelsenkirchen and then they’ve got to find English fans while avoiding the German authorities who have quite harsh powers of preventative arrest So I think probably the Germans are best placed of anybody really to manage that Pearson said the ­latest generation of England fan should not alarm the German authorities and that they would likely take over the closest Irish bar or central square to “chant 10 German bombers and throw beer in the air keep footballs in the air and engage in what might be considered quite obnoxious behaviour” He added: “If the German police do what they did in 2006 that won’t be a problem because they will have dialogue officers in the crowd and they will have words with people that are stepping over the red lines the police will also be keeping an eye on the Serbian groups I would be very surprised if Serbians were able to get around the police and if they weren’t able to manage the low-level sort of obnoxious behaviour of a lot of England fans.” This is the archive of The Observer up until 21/04/2025 The Observer is now owned and operated by Tortoise Media Legendary hard rockers AC/DC kicked off their "Power Up" European tour earlier tonight (Friday The debut show of the band's first full tour since 2016 took place at the 62,000-capacity Veltins-Arena and saw AC/DC deliver a 24-song set that began with "If You Want Blood (You've Got It)" and closed with "For Those About to Rock (We Salute You)" The Gelsenkirchen show marked AC/DC's first with the band's new touring lineup consisting of singer Brian Johnson drummer Matt Laug and the latest addition to the group's touring lineup The setlist for the Gelsenkirchen concert was as follows: The 24-date "Power Up" European tour will run through August Austria and Switzerland before landing at London's Wembley Stadium for a pair of shows on July 3 and 7 Slovakia and Paris and winding down at Croke Park in Dublin The European tour is the first run of gigs since AC/DC's return to the stage at last year's rock Power Trip festival in Indio AC/DC's last tour took place in 2015 and 2016 and had a $180 million gross with 2,310,061 sold tickets reported to the Pollstar box office Laug is an American drummer who has played with many bands/artists such as Alanis Morissette Matt moved to Los Angeles after graduating from South Florence High School in 1986 and after attending college in L.A. Laug supported AC/DC as part of SLASH'S SNAKEPIT on the North American and European legs of the "Stiff Upper Lip" tour In its announcement about Laug's addition to the band's Power Trip lineup AC/DC offered no explanation for the absence of the band's longtime drummer Phil Rudd who rejoined AC/DC for the recording of the group's comeback album Rudd was ousted from AC/DC when he was sentenced to eight months of home detention by a New Zealand court in 2015 after pleading guilty to charges of threatening to kill and drug possession He was replaced on the band's "Rock Or Bust" tour by Chris Slade who had previously served as AC/DC's drummer between 1989 and 1994 who appeared on all but three of AC/DC's 18 previous studio albums It was the release of that album that led indirectly to Rudd's arrest with the drummer allegedly so angry at a personal assistant over the way the record was promoted that he threatened to have the man and his daughter killed AC/DC postponed the last 10 dates of its spring 2016 North American trek after Johnson was advised to stop playing live or "risk total hearing loss." The band went on to complete the European and North American legs of its "Rock Or Bust" tour with GUNS N' ROSES frontman Axl Rose as a "guest vocalist." At the time Johnson had been AC/DC's singer for 36 years ever since replacing the late Bon Scott in 1980 and making his debut on the classic "Back In Black" album To enable him to perform live with AC/DC again the now-76-year-old Johnson worked with audio expert Stephen Ambrose who said he could help resolve the singer's hearing problems who invented the wireless in-ear monitors that are widely used by touring artists today claimed to have invented a new type of ear-bud that would allow Johnson to perform without causing further damage to his eardrums After three years of experimenting and "miniaturizing" the equipment Johnson previously said the technology could allow him to tour again Chaney is best known as the bassist of JANE'S ADDICTION and as a member of Alanis Morissette's touring and recording band Chaney was also a member of TAYLOR HAWKINS AND THE COATTAIL RIDERS and CAMP FREDDY as well as being a prolific and versatile session musician having played with artists including Joe Cocker Chaney is also a founding member and partner in the all-star supergroup ROYAL MACHINES along with Dave Navarro (JANE'S ADDICTION),Mark McGrath (SUGAR RAY),Josh Freese (FOO FIGHTERS) and Billy Morrison (BILLY IDOL) Bassist Cliff Williams announced his retirement at the end of AC/DC's 2015-2016 "Rock Or Bust" tour Williams — and Johnson — took part in the recording sessions that resulted in "Power Up" Both of them were also part of the AC/DC lineup that performed at Power Trip During an October 2020 interview with Dean Delray's "Let There Be Talk" podcast Cliff was asked if Johnson's departure from the road was what led to his desire to stop touring I was at a point — and this is at the beginning of the 'Rock Or Bust' tour — that I just felt I knew that I didn't wanna keep doing these two-year tours so I made them aware of the fact that this was gonna be my last go-round God bless Axl for coming in and helping us out he wanted to take part in the recording sessions for "Power Up" as a tribute to Angus's late brother founding AC/DC rhythm guitarist Malcolm Young who died in 2017 from effects of dementia at age 64 Malcolm is credited as a writer on all 12 tracks on "Power Up" "If 'Back In Black' has [late AC/DC singer] Bon Scott all over it 'Power Up' has got Malcolm Young," Cliff said And it's the band that we played together with for 40-plus years And I wanted to do that — I wanted to come back and do that "We did some rehearsals earlier [in 2020] before this darn COVID thing popped up and we had great rehearsals," he continued Everyone goes home to their respective homes we've been here ever since [because of the coronavirus-related shutdown]." Cliff went on to confirm that his commitment to AC/DC was only for "a few" dates in support of "Power Up" "For both [my mental and physical] health," he said which I won't bore you with the details of Williams previously revealed that a "terrible" bout with vertigo contributed to his 2016 retirement He also admitted the return of both Johnson and drummer Phil Rudd convinced him to rejoin the group "It was like the old band back together," he told Rolling Stone but as close to the band that's been together for 40-plus years as we can possibly make it "Power Up" was recorded over a six-week period in August and September 2018 at Warehouse Studios in Vancouver with producer Brendan O'Brien who also worked 2008's "Black Ice" and "Rock Or Bust" ⚡ AC/DC - PWRUP Tour Set list - 17 May 2024GELSENKIRCHEN #acdc #PWRUP #livemusic #pwruptour #setlist #acdcfamily #acdcfans Posted by The AC/DC Family! on Friday, May 17, 2024 Police arrested a suspected Taylor Swift stalker in Germany hours before the pop superstar began the energy while performing in Gelsenkirchen for her Eras Tour concert on Wednesday A man has been detained on suspicion of stalking the American singer ahead of the first of three shows by the Anti-Hero hitmaker who previously made threats against the singer was detained following tips from organisers of the event the city put up signs temporarily renaming itself "Swiftkirchen" and honoured the singer on a "Walk of Fame" that commemorates local celebrities which translates roughly to "Swift's Church" was unveiled Tuesday by Swift fan Aleshanee Westhoff who suggested the name to the city's mayor and started a petition a few weeks ago the home of German football club Schalke 04 and around 200,000 "Swifties" are expected to flock to the city this week After record-breaking concerts across Europe Swift took to the stage in Gelsenkirchen and greeted fans in German she promised: “It won’t be that long before I come back again." Swift’s concert in Dublin created ‘seismic activity’ that could be detected up to 100km away Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies set up 21 seismometers to detect tremors outside of the Aviva Stadium The song which caused the largest seismic activity was her 2008 hit ‘Love Story’ and some tremors could be detected as far away as Wexford After Dublin's tremor the singer jolted Gelsenkirchen with her hit performance Carnie Wilson shares what one exec said about her ‘weight problem’ for Wilson Phillips music videos Naomi Campbell to not attend Met Gala 2025 because of rift with organizer Anna Wintour Alexander Skarsgard gets real about fatherhood and hurdles Machine Gun Kelly and Megan Fox step out to run errands after first baby together Rowling talks about ‘power to sack an actor’ from the Harry Potter series Zoë Kravitz and Noah Centineo casually step out in New York City together Copyright © 2025. The News International, All Rights Reserved | Contact Us | Authors