The new Seven Wonders of the World have been announced, based on more than 100 million votes cast in an online poll.
The Great Wall of China, The Statue of Christ Redeemer in Brazil, Machu Picchu in Peru, Chichén Itzá in Mexico, The Colosseum in Italy, Petra in Jordan and The Taj Mahal in India were chosen from 21 contenders, including The Eiffel Tower in France and the Acropolis in Greece.
The New7Wonders Foundation – which organised the poll – was created in 2001 by Swiss adventurer Bernard Weber and the 21 short-listed sites were picked from a group of 77 by a handpicked panel of architects.
The winners were announced at the Benfica Stadium in Lisbon, Portugal, in front of 50,000 spectators.
Weber said: “I have always been very interested in history and the Ancient Seven Wonders fascinated me – the myths associated with them, what they said about the world in which Philon of Byzantium lived in 200 B.C.
“Of the Ancient Wonders, only the pyramids in Egypt remain. We don’t even know what the other six really looked like. I felt that it was time for the concept to be revived – encompassing the whole world, celebrating the cultural heritage of our many continents and peoples.
“So I knew that the primary component had to be the Internet, which allowed voting to be truly worldwide. I wanted to empower citizens all over the globe to take part and share in recognising and preserving our common global cultural heritage.”
However, the United Nations culture body, UNESCO, was not involved in the new list, despite being asked by Weber. A spokesperson said: “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 Seven New Wonders of the World is the result of a private undertaking, reflecting only the opinions of those with access to the internet and not the entire world.”
The Great Pyramid of Giza in Egypt is the only remaining site of the original Seven Wonders, and the new list has been criticised by Egyptian officials for the pyramid’s omission. Details: www.new7wonders.com
