New 7 Wonders of the World
- For the list by USA Today/Good Morning America, see Seven Wonders of the World#New Seven Wonders. For other uses see Wonders of the World (disambiguation)
The New Seven Wonders of the World is a proposed revision of the Seven Wonders of the World, organized by a Swiss-based, for-profit corporation called New Open World Corporation (NOWC). The selection is being made by free and paid votes, through telephone or online. The first vote is free to registered members and additional votes may be purchased through a payment to NOWC. In addition to the sale of votes, NOWC relies on private donations, the sale of merchandise such as shirts and cups, and revenue from selling broadcasting rights.[1]
History
According to the NOWC milestones page[2], Swiss businessman Bernard Weber launched the project in September 1999. By November 24, 2005, 177 monuments were up for consideration. To be included on the new list, the wonders had to be man-made, completed before 2000, and in an "acceptable" state of preservation. On January 1, 2006, the NOWC said the list had been narrowed to 21 sites, [3], later reduced to 20 following complaints from Egypt. They are currently in a voting phase[4].
In addition to free votes, votes can be bought from NOWC by any individual, organization or government. As explained in its Terms and Conditions, NOWC "reserves the right at its absolute discretion to exclude [any] votes" that are cast.[5]
The final list is planned to be announced on July 7, 2007, or 07.07.07, in Lisbon in Benfica's stadium.
NOWC is not connected with UNESCO. Federico Mayor who was a former UNESCO Director General, is associated with the project, but only as an individual.
New Seven Wonders contenders
The 21 finalists[6], listed alphabetically, are:
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Criticism
One criticism has been that many new wonders were not considered from the beginning, as the first panels of judges may not have been as familiar with more recent developments. An example of one place that is considered a wonder of the world by many who visit it but was not considered in the contest, is the Bahá'í World Centre with its buildings and 19 terraces that scale the mountainside in Haifa, Israel. Even the Lotus Temple in Delhi, India that receives more visitors than the Taj Mahal was not considered.
Among others who are critical of the effort are some in Egypt who see 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.[7] Egyptian Culture Minister Farouq Hosni said the project was "absurd" and described its creator, Weber, as a man "concerned primarily with self-promotion".[7] 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."[7]
After the complaints from Egypt, the pyramid was given special status and removed from the voting list. From the Web site: "The New7Wonders Foundation designates the Pyramids of Giza — the only remaining of the 7 Ancient Wonders of the World —as an Honorary New7Wonders Candidate, and removed it from the voting." [2]