New seven wonders of the world

Winners[edit]

Location of the New7Wonders winners

The Great Pyramid of Giza, largest and oldest of the three pyramids at the Giza Necropolis in Egypt and the only surviving of the original Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, was granted honorary status.

Wonder	Location	Image	Year
Great Pyramid of Giza (honorary status)	Giza Necropolis, Egypt		2560 BC
Great Wall of China	China		700 BC
Petra	Ma'an, Jordan		312 BC
Colosseum	Rome, Italy		80 AD
Chichen Itza	Yucatán, Mexico		600 AD
Machu Picchu	Cuzco Region, Peru		1450 AD
Taj Mahal	Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India		1643 AD
Christ the Redeemer	Rio de Janeiro, Brazil		1931 AD

Reactions[edit]

United Nations[edit]

In 2007, the New7Wonders Foundation contracted a partnership with the United Nations in recognition of the efforts to promote the UN's Millennium Development Goals".^[11]

However, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), in a press release on June 20, 2007, reaffirmed that it has no link with the initiative. The press release concluded:^[8]

There is no comparison between Mr. Weber's mediatized campaign and the scientific and educational work resulting from the inscription of sites on UNESCO's World Heritage List. The list of the 8 New Wonders of the World will be the result of a private undertaking, reflecting only the opinions of those with access to the Internet and not the entire world. This initiative cannot, in any significant and sustainable manner, contribute to the preservation of sites elected by this public.

— UNESCO

Brazil[edit]

In Brazil there was a campaign Vote no Cristo (Vote for the Christ) which had the support of private companies, namely telecommunications operators that stopped charging voters to make telephone calls and SMS messages to vote.^[12] Additionally, leading corporate sponsors including Banco Bradesco and Rede Globo spent millions of reals in the effort to have the statue voted into the top seven.^[4] Newsweek reports the campaign was so pervasive that:^[4]

One morning in June, Rio de Janeiro residents awoke to a beeping text message on their cell phones: "Press 4916 and vote for Christ. It's free!" The same pitch had been popping up all over the city since late January—flashing across an electronic screen every time city-dwellers swiped their transit cards on city buses and echoing on TV infomercials that featured a reality-show celebrity posing next to the city's trademark Christ the Redeemer statue.

— Elizabeth Dwoskin, Newsweek

According to an article in Newsweek, around 10 million Brazilians had voted in the contest by early July.^[4] This number is estimated as the New7Wonders Foundation never released such details about the campaign. An airplane message, with a huge inscription "4916 VOTE FOR CHRIST" flew in Rio de Janeiro for a month.

Peru[edit]

An intensive campaign led by the Peruvian Ministry of Commerce and Tourism in Peru had a great impact in the media and consequently, Peruvian people voted massively for its national wonder. The announcement of the new World Wonders generated great expectations and the election of Machu Picchu was celebrated nationwide.

Chile[edit]

The Chilean representative for Easter Island's Moais, Alberto Hortus, said Weber gave him a letter saying that the Moais had finished eighth and were morally one of the New Seven Wonders. Hortus said he was the only participant to receive such an apology.^[13]

India[edit]

A campaign to publicize the Taj Mahal in India gathered speed and it reached a climax in July 2007 with news channels, radio stations, and many celebrities asking people to vote for the Taj Mahal..

Jordan[edit]

Queen Rania Al-Abdullah of Jordan joined the campaign to back Petra, Jordan's national treasure.^[4]

Mexico[edit]

There was a campaign on the news programs to encourage people to vote for Chichen Itzá.^{[citation needed]}