Gelsenkirchen forever: Anywhere else is shit too – Culture

Always in the face. Why does my hometown of Gelsenkirchen trigger almost everyone who even hears about it? When Taylor Swift announced that she would be playing three concerts in Gelsenkirchen, US TV presenter Jimmy Kimmel quipped at the beginning of the year: “Nobody has ever heard of Gelsenkirchen, Germany. Maybe it doesn't even exist.” When English football fans and reporters recently discovered that the city on the Emscher is just as real as their team's mixed performance, the verdict via social media followed: “What a shithole.” One presenter complained that it was nicer in Munich.