New Seven Wonders of the World

A private Swiss organization called New7Wonders announced the final list of the new Seven Wonders of the World last Saturday in Lisbon, Portugal, at S.L. Benfica’s stadium. The project was initiated to succeed to the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World compiled by the historian Philo of Byzantium around 200 B.C. However, the project received severe criticism for being a superficial event without much serious discussion of world history.

The New Seven Wonders of the World voted worldwide through either telephone or the internet include the Great Wall of China, Taj Mahal in India, Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Chichen Itza in Mexico, the Colosseum in Rome, Italy, Machu Picchu in Peru and Petra in Jordan. According to New7Wonders, some 100 million voters from 170 countries participated in the poll that took place over six years as of last Friday.

Meanwhile, the AFP reported that some experts pointed to possible flaws in the poll as the internet enabled multiple balloting for some voters. In addition, the AP revealed that the votes were concentrated in the last few months in places when the initiative was most actively promoted. In May, Chinese authorities encouraged its citizens to vote for the Great Wall of China.

Indian culture specialist of UNESCO Nicole Bolomey criticized the event as superficial and hollow, saying, “The vote was neither democratic nor scientific.” UNESCO also expressed its concerns last month, remarking that the votes only reflected personal choices.

World famous celebrities such as the pop star Jennifer Lopez, operatic tenor José Carreras and Neil Armstrong - the first man on the moon - were invited to celebrate the final announcement.

New7Wonders was founded by Swiss explorer Bernard Weber in 2001 under the motto “Our heritage is our future” and is based in Zurich, Switzerland.

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