Mayor Heads 7 Wonders Panel

Read "The Seven Wonders Reconsidered: Internet Campaign Draws Millions of Votes, Both Predictable and Puzzling" By John Ward Anderson, The Washington Post, March 13, 2007.

The New7Wonders Foundation, after an exhaustive selection process will announce its selection for the seven wonders of the world on 7/7/07. The idea for the campaign came from Swiss Canadian filmmaker Bernard Weber, who formed the nonprofit foundation "to protect humankind's heritage across the globe" and alert people "to the destruction of nature and the decay of our man-made heritage."

Voting began in 2001. Nominated monuments swelled to 177, were culled to 77, then winnowed in late 2005 by a group of experts to the current 21 finalists, each from a different country. Among the experts was Federico Mayor, who served for 12 years as head of UNESCO, the United Nations' cultural heritage agency. He is now head of the New7Wonders panel of experts.