Vote for Table Mountain | Western Cape Government

News

Vote for Table Mountain

8 November 2010

You are invited to participate in the Official New7Wonders of Nature through a global election. More than 100 million votes were cast during the first campaign. This time it is about raising our natural heritages to the same status of appreciation as the man-made wonders. Dr Ivan Meyer, Minister of Cultural Affairs and Sport, will be casting his vote on 11 November 2010 at 11:00 on top of Table Mountain for Table Mountain to be recognised as one of the seven natural wonders of the world. He will make use of the SMS voting mechanism to support South Africa's entry in the global New7Wonders of Nature contest.

To vote for Table Mountain you can SMS the word TABLE to 34874 at a cost of R2 each and voters can vote as often as they like. Other existing platforms for voting are online at www.votefortablemountain.com or by phoning +44 203 347 0901 and keying in Table Mountain's code: 7725.

Table Mountain is on a shortlist of 28 natural sites from around the globe competing to be named one of the official New7Wonders of Nature. The final seven wonders will be determined entirely by ways of votes from the public, with the organisers aiming to attract more than 1 billion voters across the globe.

Table Mountain forms part of the Cape Floristic Region, which was declared a World Heritage Site in June 2004. The Cape Floristic Region is the smallest and richest of the six floral kingdoms on earth, boasting an amazing 8 200 rare and endangered plant species, some of which occur nowhere else on earth.

Table Mountain's competitors include the Great Barrier Reef near Australia, the Grand Canyon in the USA, the Amazon in South America and Yushan in Chinese Taipei, and the official supporting committee is calling on all South Africans and tourists who love this icon to cast their vote. From an initial list of 261 magnificent natural sites announced in January 2009, Table Mountain was voted onto a list of 77 sites prior to being selected for the final shortlist of 28 in July 2009. The campaign is run by the New7Wonders Foundation in Zurich, Switzerland, an organisation which works to foster and facilitate global dialogue through participatory democratic campaigns, and which, through these campaigns, promotes conservation efforts worldwide for man-made and natural monuments.

The Official New7Wonders of Nature will be determined entirely by votes from the public and the final seven will be announced on November 11, 2011.

The campaign is well on track to receive more than one billion votes. So to vote for Table Mountain, SMS "table" to 34874, visit www.votefortablemountain.com or call +44 203 347 0901.