Cyprus competing with Grand Canyon for new Natural Wonder of the World spot
THE BIRTHPLACE of Aphrodite has been ranked 77 in a list of sites from around the world competing for a spot in a new campaign to elect the seven natural wonders of the world.
Despite coming ninth in its category so far, the famous Petra Tou Romiou (Aphrodite’s Rock) faces disqualification unless it gets national backing soon, warned the organisers of the global vote.
The New7Wonders organisation attracted 100 million votes in 2007 in the first ever global vote to elect the new seven man-made wonders of the world.
The organisers have now launched a new campaign, hoping to generate a billion votes, to decide the Official New7Wonders of Nature.
New7Wonders official Nadja Rahal said winners and participants in the last global vote recorded record levels of increased tourism and economic benefits, up to 70 per cent increases in some cases.
Good news for some, Aphrodite’s Rock has qualified to participate in the second phase of the Official New7Wonders of Nature and is representing Cyprus as its national nominee. It is currently ninth
However, Rahal warned that a nominee could only advance to the next stage of the campaign if it gets official support from an Official Supporting Committee (OSC). Unlike many of the 261 natural sites that qualified for the second phase of worldwide voting, the famous Petra tou Romiou does not have an OSC in place.
“And if nobody comes forth from Cyprus to support the Rock of Aphrodite, it will ultimately be suspended from the campaign,” said Rahal.
The Rock is currently ranked in the 77th spot, while in its own category “Caves, rock formations and valleys” it is ranked nine, below natural spectacles such as Ayers Rock (Uluru) and the Grand Canyon.
On July 7, 2009, the world, with up to a billion votes forecast, will have the chance to vote from the top 77 entries the 21 Official Finalists in the New7Wonders of Nature campaign.
Without a national OSC, the birthplace of the Goddess risks “rapid disqualification” from the global campaign, warned the organisers in a letter to Nasos Hatzigeorgiou and Georgios Leptos of the Paphos Regional Tourism Board last week.
Tia Viering, head of communications for New7Wonders, said taking part in the worldwide competition was a “great opportunity”.
“We hope to very soon welcome the Rock of Aphrodite as an Official Supported Nominee in this extraordinary global campaign,” she said.
The Cyprus Tourism Organisation (CTO) Director of Tourist Services Lefkos Fylaktides said he had not heard of the latest competition but pledged his full support if the independent Paphos Tourism Board requested it.
“We get a lot of proposals for various events, mega-events and grand ideas. The large majority have no substance,” said Fylaktides.
“I have heard of the seven new wonders of the world and I know that the Parthenon was not included. I do not have a lot of confidence in these issues,” he added.
The CTO official was less optimistic of Cyprus’ chances given the competition.
“My personal opinion is you have the Great Lakes and Grand Canyon, so I wouldn’t really consider Petra tou Romiou one of the top seven natural wonders,” he said.
Fylaktides acknowledged that if there was promotional mileage to cultivate out of this, then the stiff competition was immaterial.
“Planet earth is full of wonders like the Great Barrier Reef, the Dead Sea, the Himalayas. I’m not sure whether Petra tou Romiou is on a par with other possible candidates but that’s irrelevant, it’s worth pursuing,” he said.
