There are a hundred thousand things that set Cape Town apart, but the iconic centerpiece and beacon landmark of Table Mountain must certainly be the singular thing that identifies this town as unique above all others – something so unique and exquisite that nothing can compare with it. It has been photographed a million times and is always and never the same, inspiring artists, poets and residents alike. And now, finally, this monument of natural wonder is being considered for inclusion in the New 7 Wonders of the Natural World. 28 Finalists have been chosen and the world has been asked to vote with over a billion votes expected.
In 2007, the New7Wonders Foundation, a Zurich-based non-profit organisation, announced the New 7 (man-made) Wonders of the World after more than 100-million votes were cast via the internet in a world-wide “election”. The New 7 (man-made) Wonders of the World, announced in 2007, are the Colosseum in Italy; the Great Wall of China; India’s Taj Mahal; Jordan’s Petra; Brazil’s Christ the Redeemer Statue; Machu Picchu in Peru; and the Pyramid at Chichen Itza in Mexico.
Its follow-up campaign, to choose the “Big Seven” of the natural world, entered its final stage on 21 July 2009, when a panel of experts led by former Unesco director-general Federico Mayor announced the 28 finalists in Zurich, Switzerland. The panel made its selection from a list of 77 nominees that were chosen, from a list of 261 national and cross-national representative sites, by people around the world in internet voting. The two-year voting window will lead up to the final official declaration of the seven winners on 11 November 2011.
Alongside Table Mountain, only one other African site – Tanzania’s Mount Kilimanjaro – made the list of finalists, which include some of the world’s most spectacular mountains, canyons, lakes, waterfalls, ocean reefs and a myriad other natural attractions. Ranging from the very famous to lesser known sites, the finalists are as follows:
- Amazon
- Angel Falls, Venezuela
- Bay of Fundy, Canada
- Black Forest, Germany
- Bu Tinah Island, United Arab Emirates
- Cliffs of Moher, Ireland
- Dead Sea (Israel, Jordan and Palestine)
- El Yunque, Puerto Rico
- Galapagos, Ecuador
- Grand Canyon, USA
- Great Barrier Reef (Australia and Papua New Guinea)
- Halong Bay, Vietnam
- Iguazu Falls (Argentina and Brazil)
- Jeita Grotto, Lebanon
- Jeju Island, South Korea
- Kilimanjaro, Tanzania
- Komodo, Indonesia
- Maldives Islands
- Masurian Lake District, Poland
- Matterhorn/Cervino (Italy and Switzerland)
- Milford Sound, New Zealand
- Mud Volcanoes, Azerbaijan
- Puerto Princesa Underground River, Philippines
- Sundarbans (Bangladesh and India)
- Table Mountain, South Africa
- Uluru, Australia
- Vesuvius, Italy
- Yushan, Chinese Taipei
Voting takes place online or via sms and all South Africans are encouraged to vote for Table Mountain. For more details visit votefortablemountain.com, which explains that every vote counts:
“Now why should you be putting your energy into voting for this 260-million-year-old masterpiece? Does your vote really count?
Of course it does! A short story to explain our point. About 2 500 years ago, so the story goes, a Greek fellow became the go-to guy for intrepid Greek travellers. He chose seven sites he thought were extraordinary and told others about his final list. The next thing you know, the Seven Wonders of the World were born. Now that one man surely didn’t know it at the time, but it was his list that was to dominate the world’s history books. One single man.”
If you haven’t seen Table Mountain yet except in pictures, or you long for Cape Town accommodation underneath its comforting shadow, contact us for more information – we are at your service to make you trip to Cape Town as spectacular as our most famous landmark! CometoCapeTown.com – your trip to Cape Town starts here.
