New Seven Wonders of the World was a project that attempted to update the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World concept with a modern list of wonders. A popularity poll was led by Canadian-Swiss Bernard Weber[1] and organized by the Swiss-based, government-controlled New7Wonders Foundation,[2] with winners announced on July 7, 2007 in Lisbon, Portugal.[3]
The theme song of the contest was written by Tony (a/k/a Taloch) Jameson of the UK medieval folk/rock band, The Dolmen. The band performed the song live at the Lisbon ceremonies.[4]
The New7Wonders Foundation claimed that more than 100 million votes were cast through the Internet or by telephone. Nothing prevented multiple votes, so the poll was considered "decidedly unscientific".[5] According to John Zogby, founder and current President/CEO of the Washington-based polling organization Zogby International, New7Wonders Foundation drove “the largest poll on record”.[3]
The program drew a wide range of official reaction. Some countries touted their finalist and tried to get more votes cast for it, while others downplayed or criticized the contest.[3][5][3] After supporting the New7Wonders Foundation at the beginning of the campaign, by providing advice on nominee selection, The United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) distanced itself from the undertaking in 2007.[6][7] Many monuments were supported by ...
