New Seven Wonders of the World was a project that attempted to update the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World concept with a modern list of wonders. A popularity poll was led by Canadian-Swiss Bernard Weber[1] and organized by the Swiss-based, government-controlled New7Wonders Foundation,[2] with winners announced on July 7, 2007 in Lisbon.[3]
The New7Wonders Foundation claimed that more than 100 million votes were cast through the Internet or by telephone. Nothing prevented multiple votes, so the poll was considered "decidedly unscientific".[4] According to John Zogby, founder and current President/CEO of the Utica, New York-based polling organization Zogby International, New7Wonders Foundation drove “the largest poll on record”.[3]
The program drew a wide range of official reaction. Some countries touted their finalist and tried to get more votes cast for it, while others downplayed or criticized the contest.[3][3][4] After supporting the New7Wonders Foundation at the beginning of the campaign, by providing advice on nominee selection, The United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) distanced itself from the undertaking in 2007.[5][6]
The New7Wonders Foundation, established in 2001, relied on private donations and the sale of broadcast rights and received no public funding or taxpayers' money.[7] After the final announcement, New7Wonders said it didn't earn anything from the exercise and barely recovered its investment.[8]
In 2007 the foundation launched a similar contest, called New7Wonders of Nature, which will be the subject of voting until mid-2011.
Various lists of the Wonders of the World have been compiled from antiquity to the present day, to catalogue the world's most spectacular natural wonders and manmade structures.
The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World is the first known list of the most remarkable creations of classical antiquity, and was based on guide-books popular among Hellenic sight-seers and only includes works located around the Mediterranean rim. The number seven was chosen because the Greeks believed it to be the representation of perfection and plenty.[1] Many similar lists have been made.
History
The origin of the idea of seven wonders of the world dates back to Herodotus (484 BC – 425 BC) and Callimachus (305 BC – 240 BC), who made lists which included the Great Pyramid of Giza, Hanging Gardens of Babylon, Statue of Zeus at Olympia, Temple of Artemis atEphesus, Mausoleum of Maussollos at Halicarnassus, Colossus of Rhodes and Lighthouse of Alexandria. Only the Great Pyramid of Giza is still standing. The other six were destroyed by earthquake, fire, or other causes.[9]
According to the New7Wonders milestone page,[10] filmmaker and aviator Bernard Weber launched the project in September 1999. The project's web site started in 2001.[3]
To be included on the new list, the wonders had to have been built before 2000 and in an acceptable state of preservation. By November 24, 2005, 177 monuments were up for consideration. On January 1, 2006, the New7Wonders Foundation said the list had been narrowed to 21 sites,[11] by its panel of seven architects from five continents: Zaha Hadid,Cesar Pelli, Tadao Ando, Harry Seidler, Aziz Tayob, Yung Ho Chang and its President, Prof.Federico Mayor, the former Director General of UNESCO.[12] The list was later reduced to 20, removing the Pyramids of Giza — the only remaining of the 7 Ancient Wonders of the World — from the voting and designating it an Honorary New7Wonders Candidate.[13]
The project assigned what it called attributes to each finalist, such as perseverance for the Great Wall of China, passion for the Taj Mahal, and awe for the Easter Island statues.
A midpoint tally reported a top 10 list which included all 7 winners, plus the Acropolis, Easter Island, and the Eiffel Tower.[14]
Many monuments were supported by dedicated websites or strong placements on national websites. National figures and celebrities promoted the New7Wonders campaign in many countries.[15] New7Wonders stated that it saw its goal of global dialogue and cultural exchange as having been achieved, thanks to the sheer number of votes cast and the diversity of the voters registered.[7]
The theme song of the contest was written by Tony Jameson of the UK medieval folk/rock band, The Dolmen. Members of the band performed the song live at the Lisbon ceremonies.[16]
Winners
| Wonder | Location | Image |
|---|---|---|
| Chichen Itza Chi'ch'èen Ìitsha' | Yucatán, Mexico |  |
| Christ the Redeemer O Cristo Redentor | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil |  |
| Colosseum Colosseo | Rome, Italy |  |
| Great Wall of China 万里长城 萬里長城 Wànlǐ Chángchéng | People's Republic of China |  |
| Machu Picchu Machu Pikchu | Cuzco Region, Peru |  |
| Petra البتراء al-Batrāʾ | Ma'an Governorate, Jordan |  |
| Taj Mahal ताज महल تاج محل | Agra, India |  |
The Giza Pyramid of Egypt, the only remaining Wonder of the Ancient World, was granted an honorary site.
| Wonder | Location | Image |
|---|---|---|
| Giza Pyramid Complex أهرام الجيزة | Giza, Egypt |  |
In 2007 the New7Wonders Foundation contracted a partnership with the United Nations in recognition of the efforts to promote the UN's Millennium Development Goals“. The UN stated:
| “ | The New7Wonders campaigns aim to contribute to the process of uplifting the well being and mutual respect of citizens around the world, through encouraging interaction, expression of opinion and direct participation by voting and polling on popular themes and global issues which are understandable to everyone.[17] | ” |
[]Reactions
[UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), in a press release on June 20, 2007, reaffirmed that it has no link with the "private initiative", which it says would reflect "only the opinions of those with access to the Internet". The press release concluded:
| “ | 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.[6] | ” |
[edit]Egypt
Egyptian commentators viewed it as competition to the status of the Great Pyramid of Giza, the only surviving monument of the originalAncient Wonders. "This is probably a conspiracy against Egypt, its civilization and monuments", wrote editorialist Al-Sayed al-Naggar in a leading state-owned daily. Egyptian Culture Minister Farouq Hosni said the project was "absurd" and described its creator, Weber, as a man "concerned primarily with self-promotion". 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."
After the complaints from Egypt, the New7Wonders Foundation designated the Pyramids of Giza — the only remaining of the 7 Ancient Wonders of the World — as an Honorary New7Wonders Candidate, and removed them from the voting. However the Great Pyramid of Giza is not featured in their official results web site.[13]
[edit]Brazil
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 and sms messages to vote.[18] Additionally, leading corporate sponsors including Banco Bradesco and Rede Globo spent millions of reais in the effort to have the statue voted into the top seven.[3] Newsweekreports the campaign was so pervasive that:
| “ | One morning in June, Rio de Janeiro residents awoke to a beeping text message on their cell phones: “Press 4916 and vote for Christ. It’s free!” The same pitch had been popping up all over the city since late January—flashing across an electronic screen every time city-dwellers swiped their transit cards on city buses and echoing on TV infomercials that featured a reality-show celebrity posing next to the city’s trademark Christ the Redeemer statue.[3] | ” |
According to an article in Newsweek, around 10 million Brazilians had voted in the contest by early July.[3] This number is estimated as the New7Wonders Foundation never released such details about the campaign.
[edit]Peru
An intensive campaign led by the Peruvian Ministry of Commerce and Tourism in Peru had a great impact in the media and consequently Peruvian people voted massively for its national wonder. The announcement of the new World Wonders generated great expectation and the election of Machu Picchu was celebrated nationwide, especially in Cusco´s main square and in Lima where President Alan Garcia hosted a ceremony.
[edit]Chile
The Chilean representative for Easter Island's Moais, Alberto Hotus, said that the organizer Bernard Weber gave him a letter saying that the Moais had finished eighth and were morally one of the New Seven Wonders. Hotus said he was the only participant to receive such an apology.[19]
[edit]India
A campaign to publicize the campaign in India gathered speed and it reached a climax in July 2007 with news channels, radio stations, and many celebrities asking people to vote for the Taj Mahal.
[edit]Jordan
Queen Rania Al-Abdullah of Jordan joined the campaign to back Petra, Jordan's national treasure.[3] Despite Jordan only having a population of under 7 million people, it has been claimed that over 14 million votes were made from the country.[3] This number is estimated as the New7Wonders Foundation never released such details about the campaign.
[edit]Mexico
There was a campaign on the news programs to encourage people to vote for Chichen Itzá.
[edit]Other finalists
The other 13 finalists,[20] listed alphabetically, were:
Seven Wonders of the Ancient World
Main article: Seven Wonders of the Ancient WorldThe historian Herodotus (484 – ca. 425 BCE), and the scholar Callimachus of Cyrene (ca. 305 – 240 BCE) at the Museum of Alexandria, made early lists of seven wonders but their writings have not survived, except as references. The seven wonders included:- 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
- Lighthouse of Alexandria
The earliest lists had the Ishtar Gate as the seventh wonder of the world instead of the Lighthouse of Alexandria.The list known today was compiled in the Middle Ages—by which time many of the sites were no longer in existence. Today, the only ancient world wonder that still exists is the Great Pyramid of Giza.[edit]Medieval World
In the 19th and early 20th centuries, some writers claimed that lists of wonders of the world have existed during the Middle Ages, although it is unlikely that these lists originated at that time because the word medieval was not invented until the Enlightenment-era, and the concept of a Middle Age did not become popular until the 16th century. Brewer's refers to them as "later list[s]"[2] suggesting the lists were created after the Middle Ages.Many of the structures on these lists were built much earlier than the Medieval Ages, but were well known.[3] These lists go by names such as Wonders of the Middle Ages (implying no specific limitation to seven), Seven Wonders of the Middle Ages, Medieval Mind and Architectural Wonders of the Middle Ages.- Stonehenge
- Colosseum
- Catacombs of Kom el Shoqafa
- Great Wall of China
- Porcelain Tower of Nanjing
- Hagia Sophia
- Leaning Tower of Pisa
Other sites sometimes included on such lists:[edit]Wonders of the modern world
Many organisations have made lists of the greatest structures built during modern times, or of the greatest wonders existing today. Some of the most notable lists are presented below.[edit]American Society of Civil Engineers
The American Society of Civil Engineers compiled a list of wonders of the modern world:[10]
Wonder Date started Date finished Location Channel Tunnel December 1, 1987 May 6, 1994 Strait of Dover, between theUnited Kingdom andFrance CN Tower February 6, 1973 June 26, 1976, tallest freestanding structure in the world 1976–2007. Toronto, Ontario, Canada Empire State Building January 22, 1930 May 1, 1931, Tallest structure in the world 1931–1967. First building with 100+ stories. New York, NY, U.S. Golden Gate Bridge January 5, 1933 May 27, 1937 Golden Gate Strait, north ofSan Francisco, California,U.S. Itaipu Dam January 1970 May 5, 1984 Paraná River, betweenBrazil and Paraguay Delta Works/Zuiderzee Works 1920 May 10, 1997 Netherlands Panama Canal January 1, 1880 January 7, 1914 Isthmus of Panama
[edit]New7Wonders Foundation's Seven Wonders of the World
Main article: New Seven Wonders of the WorldIn 2001 an initiative was started by the Swiss corporation New7Wonders Foundation to choose theNew Seven Wonders of the World from a selection of 200 existing monuments for profit.[11]Twenty-one finalists were announced January 1, 2006.[12] Egypt was not happy with the fact that the only original wonder would have to compete with the likes of the Statue of Liberty, the Sydney Opera House, and other landmarks; and called the project absurd. To solve this, Giza was named an honorary Candidate.[13] The results were announced on July 7, 2007:[14]
Wonder Date of construction Location Great Wall of China 5th century BCE – 16th century CE China Petra c.100 BCE Jordan Christ the Redeemer Opened 12 October 1931 Brazil Machu Picchu c.1450 CE Peru Chichen Itza c.600 CE Mexico Colosseum Completed 80 CE Italy Taj Mahal Completed c.1648 CE India Great Pyramid of Giza (Honorary Candidate) Completed c.2560 BCE Egypt
[edit]USA Today's New Seven Wonders
In November 2006 the American national newspaper USA Today in conjunction with the American television show Good Morning America revealed a list of New Seven Wonders as chosen by six judges.[15] The wonders were announced one per day over a week on Good Morning America. An eighth wonder was chosen on November 24, 2006 from viewer feedback.[16]
Number Wonder Location 1 Potala Palace Lhasa, Tibet, China 2 Old City of Jerusalem Jerusalem[n 1] 3 Polar ice caps Polar regions 4 Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument Hawaii, United States 5 Internet Earth 6 Maya ruins Yucatán Peninsula, México 7 Great Migration of Serengeti and Masai Mara Tanzania and Kenya 8 Grand Canyon (viewer-chosen eighth wonder) Arizona, United States
[edit]Seven Natural Wonders of the World
Similar to the other lists of wonders, there is no consensus on a list of seven natural wonders of the world, as there has been debate over how large the list should be. One of the many lists was compiled by CNN:[17]- Grand Canyon
- Great Barrier Reef
- Harbor of Rio de Janeiro
- Mount Everest
- Aurora
- Parícutin volcano
- Victoria Falls
New7Wonders of Nature is a contemporary effort to create a list of seven natural wonders chosen by people through a global poll, organized by New Open World Corporation (NOWC), which ran theNew Seven Wonders of the World campaign.Seven Natural Wonders:[18] is a not for profit endeavour created to protect the seven natural wonders that have already been established.[edit]Seven Wonders of the Underwater World
The Seven Underwater Wonders of the World was a list drawn up by CEDAM International, an American-based non-profit group for divers, dedicated to ocean preservation and research.In 1989 CEDAM brought together a panel of marine scientists, including Dr. Eugenie Clark, to pick underwater areas which they considered to be worthy of protection. The results were announced at The National Aquarium in Washington DC by actor Lloyd Bridges, star of TV's Sea Hunt:[19]- Palau
- Belize Barrier Reef
- Great Barrier Reef
- Deep-Sea Vents
- Galápagos Islands
- Lake Baikal
- Northern Red Sea
[edit]Seven Wonders of the Industrial World
Main article: Seven Wonders of the Industrial WorldBritish author Deborah Cadbury wrote Seven Wonders of the Industrial World, a book telling the stories of seven great feats of engineering of the 19th and early 20th centuries. In 2003 the BBC made a seven-part documentary series on the book, with each episode dramatising the construction of one of the wonders. The seven industrial wonders are:- SS Great Eastern
- Bell Rock Lighthouse
- Brooklyn Bridge
- London sewerage system
- First Transcontinental Railroad
- Panama Canal
- Hoover Dam
[edit]Other Lists of Wonders of the World
Numerous other authors and organisations have composed lists of the wonders of the world. Travel writer Howard Hillman published two books on the subject, one with 10 man-made wonders, and one with 10 natural wonders.[20][21] British biographer, science writer, and novelistRonald W. Clark is another who has published a list of man-made and natural wonders, in his book Wonders of the World. Rather than having only seven wonders of the world to match the number of days in a week, Clark's list includes 52 wonders, one for each week of the year.[22]
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