Moscow (RIA Novosti, David Burghardt) - September 27, 2006
A Swiss-based group has just ended its tour to Moscow, Russia, to promote the "New Seven Wonders of the World" campaign. New7Wonders Foundation, created in 2001 by Swiss adventurer Bernard Weber, came to Moscow to film a short documentary on St. Basil's Cathedral on Red Square and the Kremlin as they are finalists in a campaign to select the new Seven Wonders of the World among 21 other candidate architectural monuments throughout the world, including Rome's Coliseum, Athens' Acropolis, China's Great Wall, Egypt's Pyramids of Giza and others. This list has not been updated since 200 BC, and many of the architectural wonders are no longer in existence, for example, Alexander's Lighthouse and the Hanging Gardens of Babylon.
Moscow was the third stop on a tour that will take the film crew to all continents of the world. The United States, which was included as a finalist featuring its Statue of Liberty in New York, was also included as one of the "newest" wonders. The New7Wonders tour will end in Lisbon, Portugal, on July 7, 2007 (07.07.07), where the winning monuments will be announced during the gala Official Declaration of the New Seven Wonders of the World, broadcast live across the planet. The tour began with Athens' Acropolis in a tribute to the ancient Greek origin of the Wonders of the World concept.
The general director of the State Historical and Cultural Museum "Moscow Kremlin," Elena Gagarina, daughter of the Russian icon Yuri Gagarin, the first human in space, received the official candidacy certificate from New7Wonders founder Bernard Weber in Moscow.
"The Kremlin and St. Basil's Cathedral represent fortitude and symbolism and have a remarkable history," Weber noted during his short stay in Moscow. "Since this is a worldwide campaign, we urge people to visit our site and vote for their choice on the New Seven Wonders of the World and be a part of the making of history," he added.
From Moscow, the group headed to Italy and Germany. The campaign will remain in Europe and Asia until the end of 2006, then turning its attention to Africa, the Middle East and the Americas in 2007.
