العربية
中国
Français
Deutsch
Ελληνική
हिन्दी
Italiano
日本語
Português
Русский
EspañolNEW SEVEN WONDERS OF THE WORLD
:''For the list by USA Today/Good Morning America, see New Seven Wonders. For other uses see Wonders of the World (disambiguation)''
'New Seven Wonders of the World' is a contemporary attempt to create an alternative to historical lists of the Seven Wonders of the World. The result of a worldwide popularity poll organized by the private, non-profit New Open World Corporation (NOWC), its final list was announced on July 7, 2007 in Lisbon, Portugal, in the Estádio da Luz, SL Benfica's.[1]
The Swiss-based NOWC claims more than 100 million votes were cast through the Internet or by telephone. Since nothing prevented fans, government or tourism agencies from casting multiple votes, the poll is considered "decidedly unscientific". In its ''Terms and Conditions'', NOWC reserved "the right at its absolute discretion to exclude [any] votes" that were cast.[2] No information has been given as to any excluded votes.
NOWC relied on private donations, the sale of merchandise such as shirts and cups, and revenue from selling broadcasting rights.
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.http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-wonders8jul08,0,299368.story?coll=la-default-underdog1 UNESCO has distanced itself from the undertaking.http://portal.unesco.org/en/ev.php-URL_ID=38482&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html
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 at Ephesus, 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 reasons.[3]
According to the NOWC milestones page,[4], Swiss-originated québecois businessman Bernard Weber launched the project in September 1999. The project's web site started in 2001 when Mr. Weber paid $700 for a site based in Canada.1 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,[5] 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. [6]
Federico Mayor, a former UNESCO Director General, was the president of project's expert panel as an individual.[7] NOWC is not connected with UNESCO.[8]
Organisers stated that their aim was to use part of the revenue from the contest between the well-known monuments, from future votes, related merchandise, and use of the voters database [9], to set up, or contribute to, various restoration projects in the world [10]. [11]
After the final announcement, however, NOWC which had promised to give 50 per cent of the revenues from its campaign, said it didn’t earn anything from the exercise and barely recovered its investments.[1]
In alphabetical order:
The other 13 finalists,[12] listed alphabetically and with the attributes that NOWC associates with each, were:
The company plans to develop a new list of seven wonders of nature through a similar process, taking nominations through August 8, 2008.
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:
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. 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."http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070125/wl_mideast_afp/egyptarchaeology "Egypt fumes over fresh seven wonders competition for pyramids." Article retrieved Jan. 25, 2007
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.[13]
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.[14] Additionally, leading corporate sponsors including Banco Bradesco and Rede Globo spent "millions" of dollars in the effort to have the statue voted into the top seven.1 Newsweek reports the campaign was so pervasive that:
By early July, around 10 million Brazilians had voted in the contest.1
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]
Queen Rania Al-Abdullah of Jordan joined the campaign to back Petra, Jordan's national treasure.1 The campaign was so successful, despite Jordan only having a population of under 7 million people, over 14 million votes were made from the country.1
Despite having the second largest population on Earth, the Taj Mahal of India was lagging at No.14 with just 0.8% of the votes just one month before the final declaration. Gradually, a campaign to publicise the campaign in India gathered speed and it reached a crescendo in July 2007. Every news channel, radio station, and many celebrities asked people to vote. Towards the end of the campaign, 13 per cent of all votes being cast came from India.http://www.rediff.com/news/2007/jul/08wonders.htm "Taj Mahal joins wonders of the world list." Article retrieved July 23, 2007
1.
2. NOWC Terms and Conditions
3. New Seven Wonders named amid controversy
4. http://www.new7wonders.com/index.php?id=48 NOWC Milestone page
5. BBC News Article 2 Jan 2006
6. http://www.smh.com.au/news/travel/opera-house-fading-in-race-to-be-new-wonder/2007/06/14/1181414439693.html
7. Madrid 2004
8. UNESCO is not involved
9. The New Yorker: "Buddhas for Bamiyan" Retrieved 2007-7-16
10. BBC News: "More than a one-hit wonder?" Retrieved 2007-7-21
11. New Seven Wonders: "The New7Wonders Foundation" Retrieved on 2007-7-18
12. Finalist Page
13. http://www.new7wonders.com/index.php?id=391 NWOC Pyramids of Giza
14. Sete Maravilhas: Brasil comemora eleição de Cristo Redentor
15. "Líder pascuense furioso porque le dieron a la isla un triunfo moral" ''Las Últimas Noticias'' July 10 2007
★ New 7 Wonders Videos
★ New 7 Wonders Site
Location of the New Seven Wonders winners.
'New Seven Wonders of the World' is a contemporary attempt to create an alternative to historical lists of the Seven Wonders of the World. The result of a worldwide popularity poll organized by the private, non-profit New Open World Corporation (NOWC), its final list was announced on July 7, 2007 in Lisbon, Portugal, in the Estádio da Luz, SL Benfica's.[1]
The Swiss-based NOWC claims more than 100 million votes were cast through the Internet or by telephone. Since nothing prevented fans, government or tourism agencies from casting multiple votes, the poll is considered "decidedly unscientific". In its ''Terms and Conditions'', NOWC reserved "the right at its absolute discretion to exclude [any] votes" that were cast.[2] No information has been given as to any excluded votes.
NOWC relied on private donations, the sale of merchandise such as shirts and cups, and revenue from selling broadcasting rights.
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.http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-wonders8jul08,0,299368.story?coll=la-default-underdog1 UNESCO has distanced itself from the undertaking.http://portal.unesco.org/en/ev.php-URL_ID=38482&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html
| Contents |
| History |
| Winners |
| Other finalists |
| Reactions |
| UNESCO |
| Egypt |
| Brazil |
| Chile |
| Jordan |
| India |
| References |
| External links |
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 at Ephesus, 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 reasons.[3]
The finalist candidates for the New Seven Wonders.
According to the NOWC milestones page,[4], Swiss-originated québecois businessman Bernard Weber launched the project in September 1999. The project's web site started in 2001 when Mr. Weber paid $700 for a site based in Canada.1 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,[5] 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. [6]
Federico Mayor, a former UNESCO Director General, was the president of project's expert panel as an individual.[7] NOWC is not connected with UNESCO.[8]
Organisers stated that their aim was to use part of the revenue from the contest between the well-known monuments, from future votes, related merchandise, and use of the voters database [9], to set up, or contribute to, various restoration projects in the world [10]. [11]
After the final announcement, however, NOWC which had promised to give 50 per cent of the revenues from its campaign, said it didn’t earn anything from the exercise and barely recovered its investments.[1]
Winners
In alphabetical order:
| Wonder | Location | Image |
|---|---|---|
| 'Chichen Itza' | Yucatán, Mexico |  El Castillo being climbed by tourists |
| 'Christ the Redeemer' | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil |  ''Christ the Redeemer'' in Rio de Janeiro |
| 'Great Wall of China' | China |  The Great Wall in the winter |
| 'Machu Picchu' | Cuzco, Perú |  View of Machu Picchu |
| 'Petra' | Jordan |  The Treasury at Petra |
| 'Roman Colosseum' | Rome, Italy |  The Colosseum at dusk: exterior view of the best-preserved section |
| 'Taj Mahal' | Agra, India |  Taj Mahal |
| 'Great Pyramid of Giza (Honorary Candidate, see below)' | Cairo, Egypt |  Pyramide Kheops |
Other finalists
The other 13 finalists,[12] listed alphabetically and with the attributes that NOWC associates with each, were:
| Wonder | Location | Image |
|---|---|---|
| 'Acropolis of Athens' | Athens, Greece |  The Acropolis of Athens, seen from the hill of the Pnyx to the west |
| 'Alhambra' | Granada, Spain |  View of the Alhambra from the Mirador St Nicolas in the Albaycin of Granada |
| 'Angkor Wat' | Angkor, Cambodia |  The main entrance to the temple proper, seen from the eastern end of the Naga causeway |
| 'Easter Island Moais' | Easter Island, Chile |  Rano Raraku Moai |
| 'Eiffel Tower' | Paris, France |  |
| 'Hagia Sophia' | Istanbul, Turkey |  Sophia |
| 'Kiyomizu Temple' | Kyoto, Japan |  Kiyomizu-dera |
| 'Kremlin, Red Square, and Saint Basil's Cathedral' | Moscow, Russia |  The Moscow Kremlin, as seen from the Balchug  |
| 'Neuschwanstein Castle' | Füssen, Germany |  Neuschwanstein seen from the Marienbrücke |
| 'Statue of Liberty' | New York, United States |  Statue of Liberty and Liberty Island |
| 'Stonehenge' | Amesbury, United Kingdom |  Stonehenge in 2004 |
| 'Sydney Opera House' | Sydney, Australia |  Internationally, the Sydney Opera House is the most recognised symbol of Sydney |
| 'Timbuktu' | 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.
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:
Egypt
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. 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."http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070125/wl_mideast_afp/egyptarchaeology "Egypt fumes over fresh seven wonders competition for pyramids." Article retrieved Jan. 25, 2007
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.[13]
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 to vote.[14] Additionally, leading corporate sponsors including Banco Bradesco and Rede Globo spent "millions" of dollars in the effort to have the statue voted into the top seven.1 Newsweek reports the campaign was so pervasive that:
By early July, around 10 million Brazilians had voted in the contest.1
Chile
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]
Jordan
Queen Rania Al-Abdullah of Jordan joined the campaign to back Petra, Jordan's national treasure.1 The campaign was so successful, despite Jordan only having a population of under 7 million people, over 14 million votes were made from the country.1
India
Despite having the second largest population on Earth, the Taj Mahal of India was lagging at No.14 with just 0.8% of the votes just one month before the final declaration. Gradually, a campaign to publicise the campaign in India gathered speed and it reached a crescendo in July 2007. Every news channel, radio station, and many celebrities asked people to vote. Towards the end of the campaign, 13 per cent of all votes being cast came from India.http://www.rediff.com/news/2007/jul/08wonders.htm "Taj Mahal joins wonders of the world list." Article retrieved July 23, 2007
References
1.
2. NOWC Terms and Conditions
3. New Seven Wonders named amid controversy
4. http://www.new7wonders.com/index.php?id=48 NOWC Milestone page
5. BBC News Article 2 Jan 2006
6. http://www.smh.com.au/news/travel/opera-house-fading-in-race-to-be-new-wonder/2007/06/14/1181414439693.html
7. Madrid 2004
8. UNESCO is not involved
9. The New Yorker: "Buddhas for Bamiyan" Retrieved 2007-7-16
10. BBC News: "More than a one-hit wonder?" Retrieved 2007-7-21
11. New Seven Wonders: "The New7Wonders Foundation" Retrieved on 2007-7-18
12. Finalist Page
13. http://www.new7wonders.com/index.php?id=391 NWOC Pyramids of Giza
14. Sete Maravilhas: Brasil comemora eleição de Cristo Redentor
15. "Líder pascuense furioso porque le dieron a la isla un triunfo moral" ''Las Últimas Noticias'' July 10 2007
External links
★ New 7 Wonders Videos
★ New 7 Wonders Site
This article provided by Wikipedia. To edit the contents of this article, click here for original source.
psst.. try this: add to faves
Featured Companies
| myHellas.com | |
| Dancing Moon Travel | |
| LJ Biz |
