History is taking place as the New Seven Wonders of the World is announced. Much in the spirit of the fame show American Idol, the people of the world were able to cast their own ballots as to what they believe were the top wonders of the world.
Approximately 100 million votes were cast through the internet and cell phone text messaging. The announcement of the new wonders came July 7 at an international show at Portugal's largest venue, the Estadio da Luz in Lisbon.
The winners are The Colosseum in Rome, The Great Wall of China, India's Taj Mahal, Jordan's ancient city of Petra, the Incan ruins of Machu Picchu in Peru, Brazil's Statue of Christ Redeemer and Mexico's Chichen Itza pyramid.
The winners were chosen among 14 other nominated landmarks, including the Eiffel Tower in Paris, Easter Island in the Pacific, the Statue of Liberty in New York City, the Acropolis in Athens, Russia's Kremlin and Australia's Sydney Opera House.
We all hopefully remember from our childhood years, the original Wonders of the Ancient World: Great Pyramid of Giza, Hanging Gardens of Babylon, Temple of Artemis, Statue of Zeus at Olympia, Mausoleum of Maussollos, Colossus of Rhodes and the Lighthouse of Alexandria.
According to Wikipedia, The 'Seven Wonders of the World' (or the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World) is a widely known list of seven remarkable manmade constructions. It was based on guidebooks popular among Hellenic sight-seers and only includes works located around the Mediterranean rim.
The campaign to name the new wonders was launched in 1999 with almost 200 nominations coming in from around the world. The list of candidates was narrowed to 21 by the start of 2006. Organizers also went on a world tour, visiting each site. The only original wonder still surviving was the Great Pyramid of Giza.
I think the wonders chosen are right on, but I have to admit I would have had a hard time deciding. All of the above winners and losers are amazing wonders.
Any thoughts?
