Seven cities have been named the new urban wonders of the world in a campaign that aims to spotlight “the beauty of the world’s heritage,” even those that are manmade.
In a worldwide competition that started with more than 1,200 nominations from 220 countries, a panel of experts and voters around the world helped whittle down the selection in seven elimination phases.
The New7Wonders Cities list is conspicuously absent of destinations in North America and Europe, and is instead dominated by the Middle East, Latin America and Southeast Asia.
The winners beat finalists such as Chicago, London, Barcelona, Mexico City, Perth, Reykjavik and Quito.
“For the first time in human history, more than half of our planet’s population lives in cities and this election emphasizes the dramatically challenging character of our changing world," organizers said.
A panel of experts helped narrow down the initial list of nominations to 28 official candidates. The public was then invited to vote through various channels -- online, apps, a voting hotline, and old fashioned snail mail -- to help choose the final seven cities.
Here are the seven cities deemed the new urban wonders of the world (in alphabetical order):
- Beirut, Lebanon
- Doha, Qatar
- Durban, South Africa
- Havana, Cuba
- Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
- La Paz, Bolivia
- Vigan, Philippines
