Santa Clara makes Taylor Swift honorary mayor, renames the city ‘Swiftie Clara’

Taylor Swift is the next mayor of Santa Clara — at least for her two-night engagement at Levi’s Stadium later this month.

Santa Clara is the latest city pulling out all the stops as Swift passes through the Mission City on July 28 and 29 for her record-breaking ‘Eras Tour.’

On Tuesday night, Mayor Lisa Gillmor proclaimed the city would name Swift the honorary mayor and change its name for ceremonial purposes to “Swiftie Clara.”

The proclamation said the commendation is being given to “celebrate the positive local impact to the Santa Clara community, as well as the impact regionally, of Taylor Swift’s music, tours and extraordinary fanbase.”

At Tuesday’s council meeting, Gillmor — who wore a light purple blazer in honor of the recent release of “Speak Now (Taylor’s Version)” and a friendship bracelet from a member of the city’s parks and recreation staff that read “Swiftie Clara” — said the city would be “celebrating the Swiftie spirit.”

“We’re thrilled to host an artist whose devotion to music and empowerment sets such a positive example for so many people of all ages in the world and that’s why we’re doing this,” Gillmor said.

A short video played at the meeting in Swift’s honor had the mayor rattling off countless references to her many songs.

“So get ready to see ‘sparks fly’ as ‘the crowds in the stands went wild’ and to ‘shake it off’ while being a part of an unforgettable experience at Levi’s Stadium,” Gillmor said, referencing Swift’s songs “Sparks Fly,” “Long Live” and “Shake It Off.”

Christine Lawson, the CEO of Discover Santa Clara — the city’s destination marketing organization — remarked on the importance of ‘The Eras Tour’ making a stop in the Bay Area, especially in light of recent estimates that her tour could have a $5 billion economic impact worldwide.

“Her coming back to Santa Clara is really important for us,” Lawson said. “It showcases the city in a really positive way to a unique audience, a diverse audience of individuals that will be at the show and be introduced to the city.”

Other mayors and governors have bestowed similar honors on the singer-songwriter throughout the 53-night, 20-city U.S. leg of her tour.

Last month, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey declared the city would change its name temporarily to Swiftieapolis and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz proclaimed June 23 and 24 as “Taylor Swift Days.”

During Swift’s Pittsburgh stop, Mayor Ed Gainey renamed the city Swiftsburgh for the week. And more recently during her two-night appearance at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri, North Kansas City put a twist on a road already called Swift Street, renaming it Swift Street (Taylor’s Version) in honor of her re-recording her old albums to take back ownership of her music.