Portugal picks its new seven wonders next Saturday, and each vote costs a euro
The grand final runs on 12 September at the National Palace of Sintra, with three finalists in each of seven categories. Voting is by phone call or the TVI Pass app, and PwC audits every stage.
Portugal settles its new seven wonders on Saturday 12 September, at the National Palace of Sintra. Twenty-one sites reach the final, three in each of the seven categories being contested: castles, religion, history, great works, the twentieth century, the twenty-first century and tourism.
Forty-nine candidates went into the national semi-final, held in the same palace. The competition itself opened with more than 600 entries from across the country, the Azores and Madeira included.
How the voting works, and what it costs
The public decides, and there are two ways in. One is a phone call to the number attached to each site, given out during the TVI broadcasts. The other is the TVI Pass app, where you buy packs of votes. Either way, a single vote costs one euro plus VAT, and PwC audits the whole process. Voting opens and closes with each programme, so on Saturday only what is cast that night counts.
Who is already through
Confirmed finalists include the Monte Palace garden in the tourism category, Madeira’s only survivor from seven regional entries; the Amoreira Aqueduct at Elvas; and the fortress at Valença, up on the Minho border. Madeira gets into the final through a garden, in the same island group where Porto Santo replays the Columbus era this month.
The contest is a registered brand with nearly two decades of themed editions behind it, from beaches to pastries to villages to popular culture. This one goes back to where it started, with built heritage and backing from Turismo de Portugal.
If you have a favourite on the list, the maths is simple. One euro plus VAT, and only on Saturday night.
By Lucy Bennett
Image: Diego Delso / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
