Taylor Swift: Police arrest 'stalker' as Germany tour begins

Police in the western German city of Gelsenkirchen took a suspected Taylor Swift stalker into custody on Wednesday evening ahead of the first Germany date on the US singer's "Eras Tour."

Authorities said on Thursday morning that event organizers had alerted police to threats made against the 34-year-old star, but gave no further details.

Around 60,000 fans – known as "Swifties" – attended the first of three concerts at the Veltins Arena in Gelsenkirchen, which police said went peacefully.

After the concert, police responded to a call-out from a 70-year-old man in the Gelsenkirchen suburb of Erle, which neighbors the Arena, and heard loud bangs upon arrival. Officers found the man to be psychologically unwell and took him to hospital, according to a spokeswoman.

Part of a main road was cordoned off but it was unclear what exactly had caused the bangs.

Otherwise, police reported no issues apart from two traffic jams on a nearby motorway.

Taylor Swift greets fans in German

After concerts in France, Sweden, Portugal, Spain, the United Kingdom, Ireland, the Netherlands, Switzerland and Italy on the European section of her record-breaking tour, Swift took to the stage in Gelsenkirchen and greeted fans in German:

"Willkommen zur Eras Tour! (Welcome to the Eras Tour!)" she said. "Schön, euch zu sehen! (Nice to see you!)" she added, to huge cheers.

Continuing in English, she promised: "It won't be that long before I come back again."

Swift, who last toured Germany nine years ago, will perform two more concerts in Gelsenkirchen on Thursday and Friday night before dates in Hamburg on July 23 and 24, and Munich on July 27 and 28.

Gelsenkirchen renamed 'Swiftkirchen'

The working-class city of Gelsenkirchen, in the heart of Germany's formerly industrial Ruhr Valley, may lack the glamor of Hamburg, Munich or other major European cities, but it boasts one of the biggest and most modern arenas in Germany.

The Veltins Arena is usually the home of popular German football club Schalke 04, who regularly play in front of crowds of 61,000, but the pitch can be removed for concerts and other events.

The Arena also hosted four matches at the recent European Championships in Germany – although local authorities were criticized for poor organization which led to transport chaos.

And so local officials were determined to put on a better show for the 200,000 "Swifties" who are expected to descend on the city (population 260,000) this week.

Cheerleaders were on hand to welcome fans at the city's main train station, while Swift was added to the "Gelsenkirchen Walk of Fame" with a paving stone laid in her honor.

The city even temporarily renamed itself with several street signs bearing the name "Swiftkirchen" – although this didn't go down well with all residents, some of whom, namely the local football fans, covered the signs with Schalke stickers.

mf/fb (AFP, dpa)