Ben Kingsley and Bipasha Basu at the Official declaration of the new 7 Wonders of the World, Lisbon, Portugal - 07 Jul 2007. Photo Credit: Rex9 July 2007 (Sawf News) - History has never had a particularly sexy or glamorous image, but the launch of the new Seven Wonders of the World was packed with a host of stars. British actor Ben Kingsley, US actress Hillary Swank, and Bollywood beauty Bipasha Basu hosted the celebrity-studded ceremony at Lisbon's Stadium of Light.
The ceremony was broadcast in more than 170 countries to an estimated 1.6 billion viewers.
It featured performances from Jennifer Lopez, as well as tenor José Carreras and flamenco star Joaquin Cortés.
The New7Wonders campaign was launched by Swiss adventurer Bernard Weber in 1999.
Hillary Swank, Ben Kingsley and Bipasha Basu at the Official declaration of the new 7 Wonders of the World, Lisbon, Portugal - 07 Jul 2007. Photo Credit: RexAlmost 200 nominations came in and 21 sites were short-listed out of a potential 77 by a jury of renowned architects and ex-UNESCO chief Federico Mayor.
The world was then asked to vote; by the end of polling at midnight Friday nearly 100 million votes had been gathered.
During the ceremony Hilary Swank commented: 'Never before in history have so many people participated in a global decision.'
Ben Kingsley and Bipasha Basu at the Official declaration of the new 7 Wonders of the World, Lisbon, Portugal - 07 Jul 2007. Photo Credit: RexThe original Seven Wonders of the World existed more than 2,000 years ago, were all in the Mediterranean region, and were decided upon by Greek scholars. The only one left standing today is the Pyramids of Giza. The Hanging Gardens of Babylon, the Statue of Zeus at Olympia, the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus, the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus, the Colossus of Rhodes and the Pharos lighthouse off Alexandria in Egypt have all long since vanished.
To qualify as one of the new wonders of the world the `wonders' had to be man-made, completed by 2000 and in an `acceptable' state of preservation.
Each continent had to be represented by at least one wonder, but there could not be more than one per country.
The final list that was decided upon comprises of Christ the Redeemer - Rio, Brazil; Machu Picchu - Peru; Chichen Itza pyramid - Mexico; Petra - Jordan; Great Wall of China - China; Colosseum - Rome; and the Taj Mahal - India.
News Copyright © Sawf News. May not be reproduced without explicit written permission