Two millennia after the Greeks listed the seven wonders of the ancient world, a foundation created by a Swiss millionaire is to announce the seven sites elected as the modern world wonders in a global internet vote, according to dpa. A glamourous gala event will be held at a huge Lisbon stadium Saturday to make public the winners of a competition which has generated enthusiasm outside the Western world, but come under criticism from art experts and the United Nations. India's Taj Mahal, the Inca city of Machu Pichu in Peru, the Great Wall of China, the stone city of Petra in Jordan and Timbuktu in Mali are among the 20 candidates vying to be included among the seven wonders. Other proposed sites are located in Western countries, such as the Statue of Liberty in New York, the Eiffel Tower in Paris, the Colosseum in Rome or Spain's Alhambra palace. The ancient world wonders listed by Greek scholars included the hanging gardens of Babylon in Iraq, a statue of Zeus and the Colossus of Rhodes in Greece, a temple of Artemis and the Halicarnassus mausoleum in Turkey as well as the Alexandria lighthouse in Egypt. Only one of the ancient wonders, the great pyramid of Giza in Egypt, still stands. When the Greeks compiled their list, new world wonder enthusiasts point out, they were not even aware of the existence of the Great Wall of China. "Putting the Machu Pichu in the same category as the Eiffel Tower and the Colosseum is very exciting," said Tia Viering of the New Seven Wonders Foundation. "For the first time in history, we are creating a global memory," Weber said.
