The Colosseum was named one of the New7Wonders of the World in 2007. The winners were officially announced on 7 July 2007—07/07/07—during a ceremony at Lisbon’s Estádio da Luz. The Colosseum joined Petra, the Great Wall of China, Machu Picchu, Chichén Itzá, Christ the Redeemer and the Taj Mahal.
The campaign began in 2001 and used a worldwide public vote organized by the New7Wonders Foundation. More than 100 million votes were reported. The Colosseum’s selection celebrated a monument completed under the Flavian emperors in AD 80 and recognized its continuing importance as a symbol of ancient Rome.
This title is not the same as UNESCO World Heritage status or the ancient Seven Wonders of the World. UNESCO distanced itself from the New7Wonders campaign, and the public poll was criticized because people could cast multiple votes. The winners were presented as equal rather than ranked, so the Colosseum was not officially “number one” or “the seventh” wonder.