Seven 'new' Wonders of the World named

LISBON: Seven "new" wonders of the world including the Great Wall of China and the Colosseum in Rome were selected by nearly 100 million Internet and telephone voters overnight upsetting cultural experts.   

The other wonders named were the Taj Mahal in India, the centuries-old pink ruins of Petra in Jordan, the statue of Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro, the Incan ruins of Machu Picchu in Peru, and the ancient Mayan city of Chichen Itza in Mexico. British actor Ben Kingsley and US actress Hillary Swank hosted the celebrity-studded ceremony at Lisbon's Stadium of Light, which was broadcast in more than 170 countries to an estimated 1.6 billion viewers.   

A private Swiss foundation launched the contest in January, allowing voters to choose between 21 sites short-listed from 77 selected by a jury. It said it had gathered nearly 100 million votes by the end of polling at midnight Friday. Losing out among the frontrunners on the short-listed sites were the Acropolis in Athens, the Eiffel Tower in Paris, the statues on Easter Island, and Britain's Stonehenge.   

The privately-sponsored campaign was the brainchild of Swiss filmmaker and museum curator Bernard Weber. However, the UN cultural body that designates world heritage sites declined to support the event. "The list of the seven new wonders will be the result of a private initiative which cannot contribute in any significant or lasting way to the preservation of the elected sites," the Paris-based UNESCO said in a statement last month.   

The initiative sought to recreate the popularity of the seven wonders of the world of antiquity. Only one of the seven, the Pyramids of Egypt, still stands today -- and it was ruled out of the contest. The others were: the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, the Statue of Zeus at Olympia, the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus in Asia Minor, the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus, the Colossus of Rhodes, and the Pharos of Alexandria.   

The shortlist of 21 was drawn up by a panel of world renowned architects and ex-UNESCO chief Federico Mayor in January last year. They also included the Angkor Wat temples in Cambodia; the Alhambra in Granada, Spain; the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul; the Kiyomizu Temple in Japan; the Kremlin and Red Square in Moscow; Neuschwanstein Castle in southern Germany; New York's Statue of Liberty; Sydney Opera House and the ancient city of Timbuktu in Mali.   

Saturday's ceremony was attended by a myriad of stars and celebrities including former astronaut Neil Armstrong, actress and singer Jennifer Lopez, and Portuguese Prime Minister Jose Socrates. "It is the first time in history that all the citizens of the world have been able to vote and decide," declared Diogo Freitas do Amaral, chairman of the organizing committee.   

In China, the televised event was not broadcast, leaving thousands of tourists at the Great Wall unaware of the new designation. "As usual there are a lot of tourists here today, but I don't think they came here because the Great Wall was chosen as one of the seven wonders of the world," said Hu Yang, an official at the Badaling Great Wall near Beijing. "There was no special activity to welcome this ... all the same it is a great honour for all of China."  

"Most of us here (at Badaling) voted for the Great Wall, but I have no idea how many Chinese voted overall," Hu added.   

Indians handed out sweets and set off fireworks outside the Taj Mahal to celebrate its inclusion in the list and promised discounts to tourists.  Hundreds thronged the 17th century monument built by Mughal ruler Shah Jahan in memory of his wife Mumtaz Mahal. "It's a victory of love, the message which the Taj stands for," said Rakesh Chauhan, president of the Agra Hotel and Restaurant Association, announcing a 20 percent cut in room rates in the town's budget hotels for the next year.   

In Peru, hundreds gathered at 2,430 meters (7,970 feet) to greet the announcement that the ruins of Machu Picchu where they were standing had been voted one of the "new" wonders of the world. Thousands more cheered and hugged each other in Cusco, 70 kilometers (44 miles) to the southeast of the ruins after cafe and restaurant televisions beamed the result. 

"The selection of Machu Picchu is an example of what Peruvians can achieve when we unite" as they did in voting in favor of "the new marvel," Trade and Tourism Minister Mercedes Araoz told reporters after the announcement. Thousands also cheered, waved flags and broke into Mayan dances at the archaeological ruins on Mexico's Yucatan, when Chichen Itza became one of the seven "new" wonders of the world.   

"Chichen, Chichen, ra, ra, ra," chanted a group of Mexicans in white flowing robes at the foot of the Kukulkan (The Castle), the central pyramid that dominates the ruins and was built 967-987.  The Mayan ruins attract more than one million tourists a year.   

In Rio de Janeiro which hosted one of the Live Earth concerts hundreds of thousands of singing and dancing revelers broke into huge applause as they were told that the city's landmark Christ the Redeemer statue had been included among the new wonders of the world.