Peru’s Machu Picchu Campaign
Peruvian sports stars, Surfing world champion Sofia Mulanovich and international soccer player Claudio Pizarro will team up within the next few days for a special media campaign to boost votes worldwide for the ancient Inca citadel of Machu Picchu as one of the new 7 world wonders. Lima’s football club Universitario del Deportes will also join in.
Peru’s ministry for foreign trade and tourism informed on Thursday that it is very satisfied for the continuing support of the campaign which has been an immense promotion for several months now.
Minister Mercedes Araoz appreciated that many Peruvian artists and sportsmen have added themselves to the campaign, for example the Miss World 2004, Maju Mantilla, members of the pop group “Libido”, actress Camucha Negrete, folk singer Sonia Morales and the 2005 South American Rallye champion Ramon Ferreyros.
Also promoting Machu Picchu are the 2006 Pan-American Surf champion Gabriel Villarán, 2006 American Surf champion Javier Swayne, famous hair styler and owner of Tommy’s salon Javier Ampuero, and the President of the Peru’s National Sports body Arturo Woodman.
After their recent concerts in Lima, New Yorks rock-opera band “East Village Opera Company” (EVOC), Roger Waters, co-founder of the rock band Pink Floyd, Spanish pop singer Alejandro Sanz and Peru’s Under-17 national soccer team also joined the campaign trail.
The national tourist promotion agency “PromPerú” successfully convinced soccer players from ex-Maradona club Boca Juniors (Argentina) and Cienciano de Cusco to wear a t-shirt with the slogan “I already voted for Machu Picchu. And you?, moments before facing each other in a Copa Libertadores game on April 3rd.
In March, the tourism ministry signed an agreement with the Ministry of Education to launch the campaign “Vote for Machu Picchu” (>> see icon in left sidebar >>) for Peru’s entry to the the New 7 Wonders initiative. Peru’s most prominent tourist attraction is facing tough competition such as Chichén Itzá (Mexico), the Coliseum in Rome (Italy), the Great Chinese Wall, Petra (Jordan), the Pyramids of Giza (Egypt) and the Taj Mahal (India), among others.
The “New 7 Wonders Foundation” calls on all citizens of the world to support the election. Through film, television, the Internet and books, people shall be alerted to the destruction of nature and the decay of our man-made heritage. Monuments in jeopardy, perhaps in a dangerous state of decay, can be saved by publicizing their beauty and highlighting their plight to the international community.
The Foundation was created in 2001 by Swiss adventurer Bernard Weber, with a mission to protect humankind’s heritage across the globe. The initial stages of the New7Wonders campaign were financed by Weber himself, aided by a small number of committed N7W Members. You, too, can join these members, who remain firmly committed to the project and its aims to this day.
The seven winners will be announced the same day voting comes officially to an end on 07/07/07. The announcement will actually coincide with the “Live Earth” mega concert for climate protection, initiated by former U.S. vice president Al Gore.
Latest vote counts suggest that Machu Picchu is among the heavy favorites for one the top seven spots.
Article by Wolfy Becker