The New Seven Wonders of the Worldis a project that attempts to revive the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World concept with a list of modern wonders. A popularity poll was organized by the private New7Wonders Foundation, with winners announced just last year in Lisbon, Portugal.
The Swiss-based New7Wonders Foundation claims more than 100 million votes were cast through the Internet or by telephone. According to John Zogby, President of the Washington-based polling organization, Zogby International, New7Wonders Foundation drove “the largest poll on record”.
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. The United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) provided advice on nominee selection for the New7Wonders Foundation, but had distanced itself from the undertaking when many monuments were supported by dedicated websites or strong placements on national websites and when national figures and celebrities promoted the New7Wonders campaign in many countries. Still, the New7Wonders has stated that it sees its goal of global dialogue and cultural exchange as having been achieved, thanks to the sheer number of votes cast and the geographical and cultural diversity of the voters registered.
The New7Wonders Foundation, established in 2001, has relied on private donations and the sale of broadcast rights and has never accepted any public funding or taxpayer money. After the final announcement, New7Wonders said it didn’t earn anything from the exercise and barely recovered its investments.
In 2007 the foundation begun a similar contest, called New7Wonders of Nature, with nominees solicited through December 31, 2008. The 21 finalists will then be the subject of voting until the summer of 2010.
The Winners of The New7Wonders of the World:
Great Wall of China near Beijing, China
