In case you were wondering… the largest global poll ever selects the 7 New Wonders of the World.
On the fitting day of 07-07-07, the 7 New Wonders of the World were announced after more than 90 million votes were cast in an international poll to name the new wonders.
The oldest of the 21 top contenders was Britain’s Stonehenge, with more modern candidates including the Eiffel Tower, the Statue of Liberty and the Sydney Opera House. To be considered, all structures had to be built or discovered before 2000. (The original 7 wonders were selected by the ancient Greeks 2000 years ago.)
And the winners? The final vote declared this list as the world’s top human-built wonders:
• The Great Wall of China
• Petra in Jordan
• Brazil’s statue of Christ the Redeemer
• Peru’s Machu Picchu
• Mexico’s Chichen Itza pyramid
• The Colosseum in Rome
• India’s Taj Mahal
To check out the 7 new wonders as well as the other top contenders, click here.
Only one of the original 7 wonders remain
The original seven architectural marvels, believed by many to have selected by the ancient Greek writer Antipater of Sidon, included the Pyramids of Giza, the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, the Statue of Zeus at Olympia, the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus, the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus, the Colossus of Rhodes and the Pharos lighthouse off Alexandria. Of these, the only one to have survived is the Pyramids of Giza – which did not make new list of 7 wonders.
The New7Wonders Foundation was set up in 2001 by Swiss-Canadian adventurer Bernard Weber with the goal to preserve, maintain and restore world heritage.
He organized the new wonders project so that people all over the world could take part in selecting the modern world’s top wonders. “We have brought a wonderful ancient Greek concept, that of the Wonders of the World, into modern times—and used another wonderful Greek invention, democracy, to make it happen,” he said in a statement.
For the 7 wonders poll, however, democracy was a bit more flexible, allowing participants to vote more than once.
For some, not so wonderful
While some nations, including Brazil and Jordan, have endorsed the new wonders campaign, it has not been universally recognized. UNESCO, the United Nations’ cultural organization issued a statement saying it had no link “whatsoever” to the vote.
Unsurprisingly, Egypt’s top antiquities expert also objected to the list. Egypt’s pyramids are a “symbol of the genius of the ancient people,” he was quoted by CNN, adding that the pyramids are above any sort of online poll.
The Pyramids of Giza will be given honorary status, in addition to the new seven wonders, according to poll organizers.
New poll
New7Wonders has launched a new poll for the New 7 Wonders of Nature to be announce on 08.08.08. For more, go here:
www.new7wonders.com
RELATED ARTICLES
Endangered destinations
Sacred journeys
Canada’s eight priceless wonders
