Machu Picchu for a place in the New Seven Wonders’ list

A global competition to name the new seven wonders of the world will shortly see the light. Begun in 1999 by Swiss adventurer Bernard Weber, more than 20 million people worldwide have voted so far.

Public votes, though, were only considered during the first phase of the competition, when a first list of 77 locations was drafted (from an initial list of almost 200 nominations). The second phase involved a panel of architectural experts, chaired by former UNESCO chief Federico Mayor. The panel further shortened the list to 21.

The seven wonders will be announced on July 7, 2007, in Lisbon, Portugal. But only after Weber and his team visit all the 21 sites -a final assessment journey that is expected to end in March 2007.

Some of the favourites among the 21 candidates are the Eiffel Tower, Statue of Liberty, Taj Mahal and Machu Picchu. The other finalists are the Acropolis; Turkey’s Haghia Sophia; the Kremlin and St. Basil’s Cathedral; the Colosseum; Germany’s Neuschwanstein Castle; Stonehenge; Spain’s Alhambra; the Great Wall; Japan’s Kiyomizu Temple; the Sydney Opera House; Cambodia’s Angkor; Timbuktu; Petra, Jordan; Brazil’s Statue of Christ Redeemer; Easter Island; and Chichen Itza, Mexico.

You can vote for Machu Picchu at the New 7 Wonders website.

Add comment December 12th, 2006