7 Wonders finalists unveiled

Table Mountain, the Grand Canyon and the Great Barrier Reef are among the 28 finalists in a global online poll to find the ‘New Seven Wonders of Nature'.

The campaign follows the success of a similar vote to find the ‘Official New Seven Wonders of the World’, run by the New7Wonders company in 2007.

That poll, which saw the Colosseum, Taj Mahal and Great Wall of China make the cut, proved immensely popular, attracting over 100 million votes.

And it’s thought the latest competition could attract up to a billion online and telephone votes before the winners are announced in 2011.

The 28 finalists have been whittled down from a public shortlist of 77 nominees by a panel of experts.

The panel will now take a backseat and the final seven will be chosen in their entirety by public vote.

“This campaign should contribute to the appreciation – to the knowledge – of our environment and not just the one in our country but worldwide,” says Bernard Weber, founder of New7Wonders.

World-famous landmarks such as Mount Kilimanjaro and Australia’s Uluru feature among the finalists, while lesser-known spots include the Mud Volcanoes of Azerbaijan and the United Arab Emirates’ Bu Tinah Shoals.

A ‘Reserve List’ has also been created, including destinations such as the Atacama Desert, Christmas Island and Mount Olympus.

Candidates on the Reserve List could be promoted if one of the official finalists is suspended or eliminated from the competition.

The 28 finalists are:

Amazon, Latin America

Angel Falls, Venezuela

Bay of Fundy, Canada

Black Forest, Germany

Bu Tinah Shoals, United Arab Emirates

Cliffs of Moher, Ireland

Dead Sea, Palestine/Israel/Jordan

El Yunque, Puerto Rico

Galápagos Islands, Ecuador

Grand Canyon, United States

Great Barrier Reef, Papua New Guinea/Australia

Halong Bay, Vietnam

Iguaçu Falls, Brazil/Argentina

Jeita Grotto, Lebanon

Jeju Island, South Korea

Kilimanjaro, Tanzania

Komodo, Indonesia

Maldives, Maldives

Masurian Lake District, Poland

Matterhorn/Cervino, Switzerland/Italy

Milford Sound, New Zealand

Mud Volcanoes, Azerbaijan

Puerto Princesa Underground River, Philippines

Sundarbans, India/Bangladesh

Table Mountain, South Africa

Uluru, Australia

Vesuvius, Italy

Yushan, Chinese Taipei

You can vote for your seven wonders at www.new7wonders.com

>>Do you agree with the finalists? Are there other sites you feel should have been included? Have your say here on our community website goWander.com