Forget the poll - these are the real seven wonders

[milmor_1]

Forget the poll - these are the real seven wonders
By Simon Calder, Travel Editor
Published: 07 July 2007
Vote early, vote often: that is the message from the New 7 Wonders Foundation, which has chosen today to reveal the 21st-century world's choice of the seven finest works of man. But the polling arrangements are so flawed that they make even Eurovision Song Contest judges look objective.

Of the original Seven Wonders of the ancient world, only one remains: the Pyramids at Giza, near Cairo. So to make up for the disappearance of the one-time wonders, a self-styled Swiss "adventurer" named Bernard Weber founded a project to fill the void.

Mr Weber launched the project, which, appropriately enough has cost around £7m, in 2000. He "long-listed" 77 sites, then recruited an impressive panel - led by a former Unesco director general - to shortlist 21 structures that are "human-built and in an acceptable state of preservation".

The finalists range from Stonehenge to the Sydney Opera House, and can best be summed up as an impressive, if motley, selection of tourist attractions.

Kremlin/St Basil's, for example, looks like an attempt to include a plausible "wonder" in the world's largest country in the form of a walled palace complex and a nearby place of worship.

The Great Wall of China is another dubious contender, since several barriers (now in various states of disrepair) were built in various locations along the frontier with Mongolia. And the Sydney Opera House could be seen as an over-ambitious white elephant were it not for its position on one of the world's greatest harbours.

The Egyptian government, custodian of the only surviving ancient wonder, refused to co-operate with the New 7 Wonders project - some say because of fears of debasing a wondrous currency. That did not stop Mr Weber burying a certificate in the sand near the Pyramids of Giza.

Next, the founder organised "the first-ever global vote" to pick the final seven. Any world citizen could vote up to midnight last night by dialling a phone number in Britain or, strangely, Liechtenstein; by sending a text message or by voting online.

Unlike most polls, however, there was no limit to the number of times one could express a preference. Predictably, tourism promotion bodies and even governments soon began lobbying campaigns.

Mexico, one of the most populous nations in Latin America, has been urging its citizens to cast multiple votes for the Mayan city of Chichen Itza. But the government of China, whose people in theory comprise the biggest block vote on the planet, has apparently found it difficult to stir feelings and get the vote out.

Modest population - or lack of local interest - means some of the most deserving candidates are likely to be eliminated in this heritage version of Fame Academy: they include the Alhambra in Granada, Angkor Wat in Cambodia, and the Moai statues of Easter Island. The top seven - which will not be graded - are to be announced tonight at 8.30pm at a ceremony in Lisbon, in the Stadium of Light (which is not on the shortlist).

The bookmaker William Hill last night quoted odds of 1/2 for the Acropolis being included in the septet, and evens for the Taj Mahal. Odds of 3/1 were offered for Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro, while Stonehenge was an outsider at 5/1. Whatever the outcome, one certainty is that the term "eighth wonder of the world" will need to be replaced as one of the most over-used clichés in the brochure.

Simon Calder's alternative choice

* THE 'BEEHIVE', SUSSEX

When Gatwick airport opened in 1936, it boasted the world's first fully integrated air terminal. More than just a beautiful piece of 1930s architecture, the circular structure set the pattern for future airports.

* BURJ AL ARAB, DUBAI

For a hotel to feature as an icon on car registration plates, it must be spectacular in shape and scale. This vast yet delicate sail rises 321m from a man-made island in the Gulf.

* PANAMA CANAL, PANAMA

The "Big Ditch" linking the Atlantic and Pacific across the continental divide symbolises the heroic aspirations of the early 20th century.

* PORTMEIRION, WALES

Sir Clough Williams-Ellis was a visionary. On a wooded hillside by the water's edge in Wales he created "a home for fallen buildings", from castellated, pastel cottages to an entire Gothic portico.

* SAGRADA FAMILIA, BARCELONA

It may be the most enduring building site in Europe, but the most inspired creation of the great Catalan architect Antoni Gaudi still attracts 6,000 visitors a day. Gaudi worked on this soaring temple for four decades, until he died. Eighty-one years on, the project is still at least 20 years from completion.

* THE STRIP, LAS VEGAS

Paris? Venice? Luxor? New York? You find them all strung out along the main street of Nevada's largest city. This is the one place on earth where I have to ask for directions back to real life.

* THE VATICAN

This tiny but awesomely powerful city-state combines the biggest church in Christendom, St Peter's Basilica, with the Papal Palace - best known for the Sistine Chapel and Michelangelo's ceiling.

SHORTLIST FOR NEW 7 WONDERS

Acropolis, Athens, Greece

Alhambra, Granada, Spain

Angkor Wat, Cambodia

Chichen Itza, Yucatan Peninsular, Mexico

Christ the Redeemer, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Colosseum, Rome, Italy

Easter Island Statues, Easter Island

Eiffel Tower, Paris, France

Great Wall, China

Hagia Sophia, Istanbul, Turkey

Kiyomizu Temple, Kyoto, Japan

Kremlin/St. Basil, Moscow, Russia

Machu Picchu, Urubamba Valley, Peru

Neuschwanstein Castle, Bavaria, Germany

Petra, Jordan

Pyramids of Giza, Egypt

Statue of Liberty, New York, USA

Stonehenge, Wiltshire, England

Sydney Opera House, Australia

Taj Mahal, India

Timbuktu, Mali

Forget the poll - these are the real seven wonders - Independent Online Edition > News & Advice

[conlor]

Good list!

I've seen the Panama Canal a few times! They had a soft drink machine that dispensed Orange Crush!

[milmor_1]

And the results are in

100m vote for world's seven new wonders
By Ruth Elkins
Published: 08 July 2007
The Great Wall of China, Brazil's statue of Christ the Redeemer and India's Taj Mahal were among those that were last night voted as the new Seven Wonders of the World.

More than 100 million people voted online or by text in a global poll to find the world's best architectural wonders, which were announced yesterday evening in a glitzy ceremony in Lisbon, Portugal.

Others that made it on to the list were Jordan's city of Petra, Mexico's Chichen Itza pyramid, the Colosseum in Rome and Peru's Machu Picchu. Among the sites which missed out were Stonehenge, the Acropolis, the Eiffel Tower, Easter Island, the Statue of Liberty and Sydney's Opera House.

The original seven wonders of the ancient world were concentrated in the Mediterranean and Middle East, but most have since ceased to exist. 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 have all vanished. Only the Great Pyramid of Giza remains and will retain its status as a world wonder.

The campaign to find the new wonders was started in 1999 by a Swiss adventurer, Bernard Weber. His foundation, New7Wonders, aims to promote cultural diversity by supporting, preserving and restoring monuments. It received some 200 nominations from around the globe, which were narrowed down to 21 at the start of 2006. Mr Weber announced last night that he now plans to start a campaign to find the world's seven natural wonders.

100m vote for world's seven new wonders - Independent Online Edition > Asia

[conlor]

I thought Stonehenge would make the final list.

[Carnage_59]

Come on!!! filthybeast's underwear collection is one of the Seven Wonders of the World!!!!

[conlor]

Originally Posted by Carnage_59

Come on!!! filthybeast's underwear collection is one of the Seven Wonders of the World!!!!

How could that have been left off?
http://www.beastie'sundiecollection.com//

More:

Vatican Finds Seven Wonders List Biased

The Vatican suggested an anti-Christian bias in the short list of candidates for the new Seven Wonders of the World.

Only three Christian sites made the list of 21 -- the Christ the Redeemer Statue in Rio de Janeiro, and two Moscow cathedrals, St. Basil's and the Kremlin.

Bernard Weber, a Swiss photographer, began working to create a new Seven Wonders list after the Taliban destroyed giant statues of the Buddha in Afghanistan. The short list was drawn up by a panel of architects.


Archbishop Mauro Piacenza, head of the pontifical, commission for culture and archeology, found the omission of the Sistine Chapel, with its frescoes by Michelangelo, surprising, inexplicable, even suspicious, The Times of London reported.

He pointed to other world-famous Christian sites, including the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem and the Sagrada Familia Church designed by Antonio Gaudi in Barcelona.

The short list included such acknowledged marvels as the ancient Cambodian temples at Angkor Wat, the city of Petra in Jordan and Stonehenge, a pagan religious monument in England, The Times said.

Vatican Finds Seven Wonders List Biased - Technology - RedOrbit