New Seven Wonders of the World is a contemporary attempt to create an alternative to historical lists of the Seven Wonders
of the World. The result of a worldwide popularity poll organized by the
private, Swiss-based, non-profit New Open World Corporation (NOWC), its final list was announced on July 7, 2007 in Lisbon, Portugal, in the Estádio da Luz, SL Benfica's.<1>NOWC claims more than 100 million votes were cast through the Internet or by telephone. They include multiple votes that could be bought from NOWC. In its Terms and Conditions, NOWC reserved "the right at its absolute discretion to exclude
votes" that were cast.<2> No information has been given as to any excluded votes. Besides revenue from the sale of votes, NOWC relied on private donations, the sale of merchandise such as shirts and cups, and revenue from selling broadcasting rights.The program drew a wide range of official reaction. Some countries touted their finalist and tried to get more votes cast for it, while others downplayed or criticized the contest.<3><1> UNESCO has distanced itself from the undertaking.<4>