Finalist Candidates For New 7 Wonders Of Nature To Be Announced On July 21

July 3, 2009 1:49 p.m. EST

Zurich, Switzerland (AHN) - Twenty-eight finalist candidates for the New 7 Wonders of Nature contest will be known on July 21, the New7Wonders Foundation said Friday.

The non-profit foundation, which organized and manages the worldwide contest, will announce the finalists at its headquarters in Zurich, Switzerland at 12:07 GMT or 14:07 local time.

There were a total 261 nominees to the contest in seven categories namely landscapes and ice formations; islands; mountains and volcanoes; caves, rock formations and valleys; forests, national parks and nature reserves; lakes, rivers and waterfalls; and seascapes.

Out of the 261 natural wonders, the top 77 nominees or the top 11 nominees in each of the seven categories were chosen through online voting, which continues until Tuesday.

The 28 finalist candidates will be chosen from the top 77 nominees by the New7Wonders of Nature panel of experts headed by Prof. Federico Mayor, former director-general of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization or UNESCO.

Out of the finalists will be chosen the seven wonders of nature through online voting that will run until 2011, when the winners will be declared.

As of Friday, the leading nominees in each of the seven categories are the Kalahari Desert in southern Africa, Galapagos Islands of Ecuador, Yu Shan mountain range of Taiwan, Djavolja Varos earth pyramids of Serbia, Amazon jungle of Brazil, Lake Titicaca of Bolivia and Peru, and Halong Bay of Vietnam, according to Ranking © www.new7wonders.com.