Jaunted

Seven Wonders of the World

Endless, Biased, But Still Interesting

December 26, 2008 at 9:00 AM | 0 Comments

We haven't checked in on the 7 Wonders of Nature project lately--which you may recall is a spin-off from the New 7 Wonders of the World announced in mid-2007--and that's probably because we thought the contest was just dragging on for so long.

But suddenly, there's action. Nominating votes close on December 31 for the national nominee--one site per country that will carry through to the next voting round. There's been a sudden flurry of instructions to patriotically vote for your favorite local natural site, whether that's the Jeita Grotto in Lebanon or the Chocolate Hills in the Philippines or any of 77 spots found on the current contest list.

We've been skeptical in the past about the voting system for these 7 Wonders contests and this time round things look a bit skewed: It's hard to find a non-Asian destination in the top 20 right now. Not that Asia doesn't have a bunch of beautiful places, but we figure the rest of the world does too.

We won't judge too harshly until the contest actually finishes. The next round of voting (once one-per-country nominees are decided) finishes on July 7, 2009; from July 21 there'll be another vote open to pick one of the final 21 nominees, while the organizers travel around to visit them. A final decision will be released in 2011. Which is not exactly soon.

Related Stories:
· New 7 Wonders [Official Site]
· Lebanon Caves Vie To Be Official Wonder Of Nature [AFP, via Google]
· Kids Decide Seven New Wonders [Jaunted]
· New Seven Wonders of the World Winners Announced [Jaunted]

[Photo of Halong Bay, currently #2: ranggamaharga]