NEW SEVEN WORLD WONDERS

07.07.07

The New 7 Wonders of the World were announced during the Official Declaration ceremony in Lisbon, Portugal on Saturday, July 7, 2007 - 07.07.07.


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The New7Wonders of the World were announced Saturday night in a star-studded ceremony featuring a fanfare of musical performances and a parade of world dignitaries. All came together for one night to highlight the world's cultural gems and shared heritage.

The New7Wonders of the World, in random order, are: The Great Wall of China, Petra, Chichén Itzá , the Statue of Christ Redeemer, the Colosseum, Machu Picchu and the Taj Mahal. More than 100 million votes were cast worldwide.

Actresses Hilary Swank and Bipasha Basu and actor Ben Kingsley hosted the ceremonies, which transformed the Benfica Stadium in Lisbon, Portugal and contrasted the more than 2,000-year-old Ancient Wonders, presented to the audience from a giant book, with the New7Wonders candidate finalists framed by a giant laptop computer .

Bernard Weber, who launched the New7Wonders Foundation to unite the world by honoring our common heritage, announced the organization's next project: The New7Wonders of Nature. Amir Dossal, executive director of the United Nations Office for Partnerships, expressed the UN's ongoing support for the New7Wonders Foundation's work.

Among highlights of the evening were performances by Jennifer Lopez and Jose Carreras, as well as Dulce Pontes, Chaka Khan, Alessandro Safina and Joaquín Cortés. Special guests were Neil Armstrong, Bertrand Piccard, Frederico Mayor and Cristiano Ronaldo, Portugal's homegrown football star.




New Seven Wonders of the World is a contemporary alternative to historical lists of the Seven Wonders of the World. It was a private undertaking, developed by a worldwide election organized by the Swiss-based New Open World Corporation (NOWC). The final list was announced on July 7, 2007 in Lisbon, Portugal, in the Estádio da Luz, SL Benfica's.

NOWC claims more than 100 million votes were cast. Because of the election method, these votes reflected only the opinions of those with access to the Internet or telephones, and included multiple votes that could be bought from NOWC by any individual, organization or government. In its Terms and Conditions, NOWC reserved "the right at its absolute discretion to exclude [any] votes" that were cast.[1] No information has been given as to any excluded votes. Besides revenue from the sale of votes, NOWC relied on private donations, the sale of merchandise such as shirts and cups, and revenue from selling broadcasting rights.

The program drew wide levels of reaction from governments. Some countries touted their finalist and tried to get more votes cast for it, while others downplayed or criticized the contest.[2]


History

According to the NOWC milestones page,[3], Swiss-originated québecois businessman Bernard Weber launched the project in September 1999. To be included on the new list, the wonders had to be man made, completed before 2000, and in an "acceptable" state of preservation. By November 24, 2005, 177 monuments were up for consideration. On January 1, 2006, the NOWC said the list had been narrowed to 21 sites,[4] later reduced to 20 following complaints from Egypt over the Pyramids' inclusion as a candidate in competition with others.

A midpoint tally reported a top 10 list which included all 7 winners, plus the Acropolis, Easter Island, and the Eiffel Tower. [5]

Federico Mayor, a former UNESCO Director General, is the president of project's expert panel as an individual.[6] NOWC is not connected with UNESCO.[7]

The origin of the seven wonders dates back to ancient period when Herodotus (484 BC – 425 BC) and Callimachus (305 BC – 240 BC) made the lists which included the Great Pyramid of Giza, Hanging Gardens of Babylon, Statue of Zeus at Olympia, Temple of Artemis at Ephesus, Mausoleum of Maussollos at Halicarnassus, Colossus of Rhodes and Lighthouse of Alexandria. Among these ancient wonders, only the Great Pyramid of Giza is still standing. The other six were destroyed by earthquake, fire or other reasons.[8]

Winners

In alphabetical order:
Wonder Attributes Location Image
Chichen Itza Worship, Knowledge Flag of Mexico Yucatán, Mexico El Castillo being climbed by tourists
Christ the Redeemer Welcoming, Openness Flag of Brazil Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro
Great Wall Perseverance, Persistence Flag of People's Republic of China China The Great Wall in the winter
Machu Picchu Community, Dedication Flag of Peru Cuzco, Perú View of Machu Picchu
Petra Engineering, Protection Flag of Jordan Jordan The Treasury at Petra
Roman Colosseum Joy, Suffering Flag of Italy Rome, Italy The Colosseum at dusk: exterior view of the best-preserved section
Taj Mahal Love, Passion Flag of India Agra, India Taj Mahal
Great Pyramid of Giza
(Honorary Candidate, see below) Immortality, Eternity Flag of Egypt Cairo, Egypt Pyramide Kheops

Other finalists

The other 14 finalists,[9] listed alphabetically and with the attributes that NOWC associates with each, were:
Wonder Attributes Location Image
Acropolis of Athens Civilization, Democracy Flag of Greece Athens, Greece The Acropolis of Athens, seen from the hill of the Pnyx to the west
Alhambra Dignity, Dialogue Flag of Spain Granada, Spain View of the Alhambra from the Mirador St Nicolas in the Albaycin of Granada
Angkor Wat Beauty, Sanctity Flag of Cambodia Angkor, Cambodia The main entrance to the temple proper, seen from the eastern end of the Naga causeway
Easter Island Moais Mystery, Awe Flag of Chile Easter Island, Chile Rano Raraku Moai
Eiffel Tower Challenge, Progress Flag of France Paris, France
Hagia Sophia Faith, Respect Flag of Turkey Istanbul, Turkey Sophia
Kiyomizu Temple Clarity, Serenity Flag of Japan Kyoto, Japan Kiyomizu-dera
Kremlin, Red Square,
and Saint Basil's Cathedral Fortitude, Symbolism Flag of Russia Moscow, Russia The Moscow Kremlin, as seen from the Balchug
Saint Basil's Cathedral and Spasskaya Tower of Moscow Kremlin at Red Square in Moscow
Neuschwanstein Castle Fantasy, Imagination Flag of Germany Füssen, Germany Neuschwanstein seen from the Marienbrücke
Statue of Liberty Generosity, Hope Flag of United States New York City, United States Statue of Liberty and Liberty Island
Stonehenge Intrigue, Endurance Flag of United Kingdom Amesbury, United Kingdom Stonehenge in 2004
Sydney Opera House Abstraction, Creativity Flag of Australia Sydney, Australia Internationally, the Sydney Opera House is the most recognised symbol of Sydney
Timbuktu Intellect, Mysticism Flag of Mali Mali Sankore Mosque in Timbuktu

The company plans to develop a new list of seven wonders of nature through a similar process, taking nominations through August 8, 2008.

Criticism

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in a press release[1] on June 20, 2007 reaffirmed that it has no link with the initiative, which it says would reflect "only the opinions of those with access to the internet".
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A paragraph from the press release reads "There is no comparison between Mr. Weber’s mediatised campaign and the scientific and educational work resulting from the inscription of sites on UNESCO’s World Heritage List. The list of the 7 New Wonders of the World will be the result of a private undertaking, reflecting only the opinions of those with access to the internet and not the entire world. This initiative cannot, in any significant and sustainable manner, contribute to the preservation of sites elected by this public."

Egyptian commentators have viewed it as competition to the status of the Great Pyramid of Giza, the only surviving monument of the original Ancient Wonders. "This is probably a conspiracy against Egypt, its civilization and monuments," wrote editorialist Al-Sayed al-Naggar in a leading state-owned daily.[10] Egyptian Culture Minister Farouq Hosni said the project was "absurd" and described its creator, Weber, as a man "concerned primarily with self-promotion."[10] Nagib Amin, an Egyptian expert on World Heritage Sites, has pointed out that "in addition to the commercial aspect, the vote has no scientific basis."[10]

After the complaints from Egypt, the pyramid was given special status and removed from the voting list. From the Web site: "The New7Wonders Foundation designates the Pyramids of Giza — the only remaining of the 7 Ancient Wonders of the World — as an Honorary New7Wonders Candidate, and removed it from the voting."[11]

In Brazil there was a campaign Vote no Cristo (Vote for the Christ) which had the support of private companies, namely telecommunications operators that stopped charging voters to make telephone calls to vote.[12]

While the announcement of the new wonders has sent many people into celebration [13], it has outraged many who felt that their countries' monuments were unfairly passed up by the flawed vote. Oudam Em, a popular Cambodian-American writer, protests vehemently that Cambodia's fabled Angkor Wat was not selected despite "clearly dwarf[ing] many of the current selections in size, splendor and architectural sophistication." He continues, "If there is such a thing as the Eighth Wonder of the World, it would not be Angkor Wat, but the mere fact that this magnificent monument was not selected among the Seven Wonders."[14]

The Chilean representative for the Easter Island Moais, Alberto Hotus, said that the organizer, Bernard Weber, gave him a letter saying that the Moais had finished eighth and that they were "morally" one of the New Seven Wonders. Hotus said he was the only participant to receive such apology.[15]