The 105-foot-tall (38-meter-tall) "Christ the Redeemer" statue in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, was among the "new seven wonders of the world" announced July 7 following a global poll to decide a new list of human-made marvels.
The winners were voted for by Internet and phone, American Idol style. The other six new wonders are the Colosseum in Rome, India's Taj Mahal, the Great Wall of China, Jordan's ancient city of Petra, the Inca ruins of Machu Picchu in Peru, and the ancient Maya city of Chichén Itzá in Mexico.
The contest was organized by the New7Wonders Foundation—the brainchild of Swiss filmmaker and museum curator Bernard Weber—in order to "protect humankind's heritage across the globe." The foundation says the poll attracted almost a hundred million votes.
Yet the competition has proved controversial, drawing criticism from the United Nations' cultural organization UNESCO, which administers the World Heritage sites program (pictures of the newest World Heritage sites).
"This initiative cannot, in any significant and sustainable manner, contribute to the preservation of sites elected by [the] public," UNESCO said in a statement.
译文:
巴西里约热内卢的基督像
总高105英尺（38米），屹立与巴西里约热内卢的“基督像”，在7月7日宣布的“新世界七大奇迹”评选结果时，成功入围，成为全球人民选出的新的人类创造的奇迹。
新世界七大奇迹是通过网络、电话投票进行的，和美国偶像的模式一样。另六个新世界七大奇迹是中国长城、约旦佩特拉古城、巴西基督像、秘鲁印加马丘遗址、墨西哥奇琴伊查库库尔坎金字塔、古罗马斗兽场、泰姬陵。
该活动是由新世界七大奇迹基金会（New7Wonders Foundation）组织的——瑞士电影摄制人和博物馆馆长Bernard Weber发起的——旨在“保护全球人类的遗产。”该基金会声称本次活动吸引了大约一亿张选票。
而此次竞争目前处于争论的风头浪尖上，它受到了联合国文化组织——联合国教科文组织的批评，而其掌管着世界遗产项目。（最新世界遗产的图片）
联合国教科文组织声称：“该活动为私人性质的活动，我们完全没有参与，而且该活动对于由公众选出的建筑来说也没有任何保护价值。”