Vigan Makes It to Top 21 of New7Wonders Cities

Vigan in Ilocos Sur has advanced to the next round of an international search for the world's new seven wonder cities.

New7Wonders Cities said Vigan is among the 21 finalists voted through to the next round of the campaign.
Filipinos and tourists who have experienced the beauty of Vigan, cast your vote in the penultimate voting stage that will run until Oct. 7.

Votes may be sent via:

website: new7wonders.com, via the iPhone and Android apps
international telephone voting lines.
where available, via national SMS.

After Oct. 7, the list will be further narrowed to 14, and the 7 Official New7Wonders Cities will be revealed on December 7.

Aside from Vigan, the 20 other official finalists are Bangkok, Barcelona, Beirut, Chicago, Doha, Durban, Havana, Istanbul, Kuala Lumpur, La Paz, London, Mendoza, Mexico City, Mumbai, Perth, Quito, Reykjavik, Saint Petersburg, Seoul, and Shenzhen.

New7Wonders Foundation founder-president Bernard Weber said the diversity of the remaining cities is "remarkable in terms of regional geography and urban culture."

Weber lauded those involved in the individual city campaigns, and praised the voters for contributing to the success of the New7Wonders Cities initiative.

The New7Wonders Foundation also started the New7Wonders of Nature initiative from 2007 to 2011. Another Philippine location, the Puerto Princesa Underground River, was named to the list.

Vigan has been inscribed in the World Heritage List by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) since 1999.

According to UNESCO, the city "represents a unique fusion of Asian building design and construction with European colonial architecture and planning." It was included on the heritage list for being "an exceptionally intact and well preserved example of a European trading town in East and South-East Asia."