New 7 Wonders unveils city finalists

New7Wonders has unveiled the list of cities competing for the honour of becoming one of the world’s seven best urban centres. Following its previous New7Wonders of the World and New7Wonders of Nature campaigns, which attracted more than 100 million online votes from around the world, the latest campaign is aimed at finding the world’s best cities. The long list covers 77 cities from all six inhabited continents, and is likely to spark considerable debate. Nominations range from the obvious world cities like London, Paris, Hong Kong, New York and Rio de Janeiro, to smaller capitals like Vientiane, Asuncion, Havana, Reykjavik and Muscat, and more obscure locations like Vigan in the Philippines, Cuenca in Ecuador, Solo in Indonesia and Nadi in Fiji. Asia is well represented, with Bangkok, Seoul, Tokyo, Mumbai, Kuala Lumpur, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Jakarta, Kyoto, Singapore, Shenzhen, Phnom Penh and Bandar Seri Begawan all on the list, but there is no place for Los Angeles, Berlin, Moscow, Madrid, Cape Town or Shanghai. “Global in its scope, this remarkable New7Wonders long list reflects the energy and culture of the city at its best,” said Bernard Weber, founder and president of New7Wonders. “United in their commonalties, and varied in their forms, cities remind us of the possibilities of civilisation when, for the first time in history, more than half of the world’s population live in cities. My hope is that the New7Wonders Cities campaign will generate debate about the challenges cities face – national and international – and how they are responding to them,” he added. The New7Wonders Cities panel will now whittle the list down to 28 finalists, with this shortlist due to be published on 21 October 2013. Following this, the public will have the opportunity to vote for their chosen city. The final seven winners will be announced on 7 July 2014. The full list of 77 cities: Accra, Ghana; Asuncion, Paraguay; Athens, Greece; Auckland, New Zealand; Baghdad, Iraq; Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei; Bangkok, Thailand; Barcelona, Spain; Beirut, Lebanon; Bethlehem, Palestine; Bogota, Colombia; Buenos Aires, Argentina; Cairo, Egypt; Casablanca, Morocco; Caracas, Venezuela; Cebu City, Philippines; Cuenca, Ecuador; Chicago, USA; Curitiba, Brazil; Cusco, Peru; Doha, Qatar; Dubai, UAE; Durban, South Africa; Edinburgh, UK; Hanoi, Vietnam; Havana, Cuba; Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam; Hong Kong, China; Iloilo City, Philippines; Istanbul, Turkey; Jakarta, Indonesia; Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; Kyoto, Japan; La Paz, Bolivia; Lagos, Nigeria; Las Vegas, USA; Lima, Peru; London, UK; Mendoza, Argentina; Mexico City, Mexico; Miami, USA; Montevideo, Uruguay; Montreal, Canada; Mumbai, India; Muscat, Oman; Naples, Italy; Nadi, Fiji; Nairobi, Kenya; New York, USA; Panama, Panama; Paris, France; Perth, Australia; Phnom Penh, Cambodia; Port of Spain, Trinidad & Tobago; Prague, Czech Republic; Quito, Ecuador; Reykjavik, Iceland; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Rome, Italy; St. Petersburg, Russia; San Jose, Costa Rica; San Juan, Puerto Rico; Santiago, Chile; Seattle, USA; Seoul, South Korea; Shenzhen, China; Singapore, Singapore; Solo, Indonesia; Sydney, Australia; Tehran, Iran; Tokyo, Japan; Toronto, Canada; Valparaiso, Chile; Vancouver, Canada; Vientiane, Laos; Vigan, Philippines; Zurich, Switzerland. Source: Travel Daily