Ankor Wat not included in the new 7 wonders of the world

[Guest wowpow]

The New 7 Wonders of the World were announced during the Official Declaration ceremony in Lisbon, Portugal on Saturday, July 7, 2007 - 07.07.07.

 

 

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The New7Wonders of the World were announced tonight in a star-studded ceremony featuring a fanfare of musical performances and a parade of world dignitaries. All came together for one night to highlight the world's cultural gems and shared heritage.

 

The New7Wonders of the World, in random order, are: The Great Wall of China, Petra, Chichén Itzá , the Statue of Christ Redeemer, the Colosseum, Machu Picchu and the Taj Mahal. More than 100 million votes were cast worldwide.

 

Actresses Hilary Swank and Bipasha Basu and actor Ben Kingsley hosted the ceremonies, which transformed the Benfica Stadium in Lisbon, Portugal and contrasted the more than 2,000-year-old Ancient Wonders, presented to the audience from a giant book, with the New7Wonders candidate finalists framed by a giant laptop computer.

 

Bernard Weber, who launched the New7Wonders Foundation to unite the world by honoring our common heritage, announced the organization's next project: The New7Wonders of Nature.

 

Among highlights of the evening were performances by Jennifer Lopez and Jose Carreras, as well as Dulce Pontes, Chaka Khan, Alessandro Safina and Joaquín Cortés. Special guests were Neil Armstrong, Bertrand Piccard, Frederico Mayor and Cristiano Ronaldo, Portugal's homegrown football star.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Seven_Wonders_of_the_World

 

[Guest fountainhall]

Angkor's absence from the list is a complete travesty! But it was probably inevitable, given that it is in Asia and few people around the world will know much about it, let alone have visited it. Having seen Christ's Statue in Rio and the Colisseum, they in no way compare in stature and importance to Angkor. But then most people in the west know of them.

 

 

[Guest Steve1903]

I may be wrong here but could it simply be that Angkor Wat was built outside of the time line perameters they were looking at?

[Guest fountainhall]

I may be wrong here but could it simply be that Angkor Wat was built outside of the time line perameters they were looking at?

 

The Colosseum in Rome is over 1,900 years old. Angkor is about 1,000. Date was certainly not a factor.

[Guest Steve1903]

Ok it was just a quick guess. It that case it does seem like a stupid decision to omit Angkor from the list.

[Guest pete1969]

It was a competition that was narrowed down between 21 or 22 sites and then voted on over several years by poular vote from around the world. So, it was a popularity contest in a publicity scheme dreamed up by a European guy. No official group made these choices on what made the list of the new seven wonders.

 

Pete

[Guest wowpow]

No official group voted - no but something like 94 million people voted on the internet some might think that more democratic.

 

http://www.new7wonders.com/index.php?id=476

 

National pride got involved and certainly the Chinese and Indians fought hard to get people to vote. This sort of event will boost tourism for the winner - I can already see the Conde Nast lauding a see the 7 wonders of the world tour by Boeing Dreamliner.

[Gaybutton]

I always thought the "Seven Wonders of the World" was more akin to a cliché than to something official. Who appointed this particular group to decide what constitutes the seven wonders? Well, they have their ideas and I have mine. I don't limit it to only seven anyway. They can think what they like, but I'll bet most of the people who voted have never been to Angkor Wat.

 

[Guest wowpow]

Of course it's a bit of PR fluff and not everyone will agree. What I find amazing is that it worked. They seem to have raised huge amounts of money and put on a massive spectacular event to announce the 'winners' and hit the news and media around the world for weeks.

 

I welcome it as a bit of lighthearted fun and relief on the news from the tragedies that dominate their reports.

 

Where do these funny things come from. Why are there only Seven Deadly Sins? You're right who cares.

 

Seven must be my lucky number.

 

Seven New Wonders of the World was announced on 07.07.07

 

Mr lovely at Crystal is No.77

 

 

My new car number plate is 007

[Gaybutton]

My new car number plate is 007

 

"So nice to have met you, Mr. Bond." - Count Lippe, 'Thunderball'

[TotallyOz]

I too think it sad Angor was not listed. The group that did this is now doing the 7 Natural Wonders of the World. Seems like they liked the results of the first one.

 

How about the 7 natural wonder boys of Pattaya? That would be a good contest.

[Guest kenrfc]

Well, the original "7 Wonders" was not "official" either, just one traveller's opinion. One of them (the "Hanging Gardens of Babylon") didn't even exist. And the "Colossus of Rhodes" fell into ruins almost before the ink on the papyrus was dry.

 

And FWIW, I thought Angkor Wat was great but the Bayon at Angor Thom was what really blew me away. Now THAT was jaw-dropping. I thought I was seeing something from an alien planet in a Star Wars movie.

[Guest wowpow]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seven_Wonders_of_the_World

 

Though there is no physical evidence that The Hanging Gardens of Babylon existed there are written references. Did the ink on the paper take 50+ years to dry?

 

There seems to have been a vague consensus of what the 7 Wonders of the Ancient World were which seems not to have been set in stone until the 18th, or maybe 19th, century.

 

What I find rather sad about the New 7 wonders of the world is that the are all pretty ancient with the exception of the large pre-stressed concrete statue, of questionable artistic merit, in Rio - or am I just being kind?

 

I like very much Ghandi's Seven Blunders o the World on wikipedia:

 

The Seven Blunders of the World is a list that Mahatma Gandhi gave to his grandson Arun Gandhi, written on a piece of paper, on their final day together, not too long before his assassination. The seven blunders are:

 

Wealth without work

Pleasure without conscience

Knowledge without character

Commerce without morality

Science without humanity

Worship without sacrifice

Politics without principle

 

This list grew from Gandhi's search for the roots of violence. He called these acts of passive violence. Preventing these is the best way to prevent oneself or one's society from reaching a point of violence.

To this list, Arun Gandhi added an eighth blunder, Rights without responsibilities."

[Guest wowpow]

7 Wonders on your doorstep

 

It's not called Amazing Thailand for nothing. Here are Crutch's seven nominations for places, people and things that deserve acknowledgement when conversation turns to the real wonders of the world.

The announcement of the new Seven Wonders of the World earlier this week left me feeling somewhat culturally deprived, having only experienced one of the places listed - the Taj Mahal. It was a little disappointing that the Kingdom didn't feature on the list. After all, it's not called Amazing Thailand for nothing.

THE SAMLOR: 
Truly the most remarkable vehicle in the world. This three-wheeled noise-maker (Samlorus clatterus) simply stuns anyone who comes into contact with it, including those unfortunate pedestrians it hits from time to time. Perhaps it's the way it cleverly stalls at intersections when the lights turn green. Or maybe it's all down to its uncanny ability to perform instant U-turns, sometimes with spectacular results not always appreciated by passengers. Admittedly, the samlor is not recommended as a form of transport for those of a nervous disposition. It is also no coincidence that those daft enough to board one are invariably seen travelling with their eyes tightly shut. Unfortunately this often includes the driver. Still, one never quite forgets the exhilarating feeling that washes over one at journey's end, as one considers that, having survived a tuk-tuk trip, one can surely survive anything.

 

The other 6 mildly amusing ones are at: http://www.bangkokpost.net/topstories/tops...s.php?id=120172




[Guest fountainhall]

I thought Angkor Wat was great but the Bayon at Angor Thom was what really blew me away.

 

I quite agree, but I think most people probably use the term Angkor Wat to refer to the entire massive complex of extraordinary temples.