Vote for the 7 Wonders of the World!

Photo. The only survivor of the original 7 Wonders of the World, the Pyramids at Giza, Egypt. © Britt Myhrer.

This is the biggest global vote ever to have taken place. Millions of people have already voted for their favourite "wonder." On January 1, 2006, the New7Wonder Panel of Experts, chaired by the former head of UNESCO, Prof. Dr. Federico Mayor, short-listed those nominations with the most votes received by the end of 2005.

The top 77 choices have been reduced to just 21 finalists, which are the focus for the final year of voting. It will be very exciting to see which of the wonders who will be on the top.

The 21 candidates to be the New 7 Wonders of the World are:
The Acropolis
Alhambra
Angkor
Chichen Itzá
Christ Redeemer
The Colosseum
Easter Island
Eiffel Tower
Great Wall of China
Hagia Sophia
Kiyomizu Temple
Kremlin
Machu Picchu
Neuschwanstein Castle
Petra
Pyramids of Giza
Statue of Liberty
Stonehenge
Sydney Opera House
Taj Mahal
Timbuktu

Photos. Angkor Wat and Machu Picchu, two of the 21 candidates to be the New 7 Wonders of the world. © Travel Explorations.

You can vote online either by becoming a member of New7Wonders and choosing your seven candidates once during your registration or by buying a personalised certificate and voting for one candidate of your choice. You can also vote by telephone. Voting is possible from anywhere in the world. You can vote by telephone or by buying a certificate as many times as you like.

Why is not Nan Madol among the favourites?
Nan Madol, consisting of a series of small artificial islands linked by a network of canals, is often called the Venice of the Pacific. By the 8th or 9th century, the construction started, but the distinctive megalithic architecture was probably not begun until perhaps the 12th or early 13th century.

This wonder is located on the South East corner of the island of Pohnpei, presently part of the Federated States of Micronesia, and used to be the capital of the Saudeleur dynasty until about AD 1500.

Nan Madol means "spaces between" and is a reference to its canals. Today Nan Madol forms an archaeological district covering more than 18 km² and includes the stone architecture built up on a coral reef flat along the shore of Temwen Island, several other artificial islets, and the adjacent Pohnpei main island coastline. What could really be bigger that this wonder?

For more information and voting, click into the website The New7Wonders: New7Wonders.

The ancient original 7 Wonders of the World are:
The Temple of Artemis
The Hanging Gardens of Babylon
The Colossus of Rhodes
The Mausoleum at Halicarnassus
The Lighthouse at Alexandria
The Statue of Zeus
The Pyramids at Giza

Only the Pyramids of Giza are remained, but who know, maybe remains of the other ancient wonders will be found in the future.

Stein Morten Lund, 1 February 2007