Doha one of New7Wonders Cities

Doha was yesterday announced in Dubai as one of the New7Wonders Cities after a two year voting process by the global campaign.

Bernard Weber, Founder-President of New7Wonders, yesterday announced Beirut (Lebanon), Doha (Qatar), Durban (South Africa), Havana (Cuba), Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia), La Paz (Bolivia) and Vigan (Philippines) as the New7Wonders Cities.

The campaign began with more than 1,200 nominees from 220 countries and was narrowed down to seven that represent the global diversity of today’s urban society.

“For the first time in human history, more than half of our planet’s population lives in cities and this election emphasises the dramatically challenging character of our changing world,” said Weber.

Other cities that were part of the final 14 included Barcelona, Chicago, London, Mexico City, Perth, Quito and Reykjavik.

The results announced yesterday were based on the counting of votes since the campaign ended at 7am GMT yesterday. They will now be checked, validated and independently verified.

Once the verification process has been completed, New7Wonders will then work with the confirmed cities to organise ‘official inauguration’ events.

Established in 2001, New7Wonders aims to contribute to the protection of the world’s human-built and natural heritage and foster respect for the planet’s diversity.