The official inauguration of Table Mountain as one of the New 7 Wonders of Nature will take place in December. South Africa and Cape Town are gearing up to celebrate the mountain’s success following a three year campaign that drew more than 100 million votes from 220 countries.
The event will draw global delegates from the other six New 7 Wonders sites to South Africa.
The first official inauguration will take place on Saturday, 1 December on Tafelberg Road at the foot of the mountain and guests will include delegates from the New7Wonders Foundation and the other six New 7 Wonder sites, the City of Cape Town, Vote for Table Mountain ambassadors and members of the Table Mountain Official Supporters’ Committee (OSC).
A public inauguration for Table Mountain will take place during the City of Cape Town’s free concert at the Grand Parade on Sunday, 2 December. The concert is part of the City’s Festive Lights celebrations and an impressive plaque will be unveiled.
“Table Mountain is a natural feature of our landscape, a symbol of nature’s permanence and the majesty and beauty of our environment,” says Executive Mayor of Cape Town, Patricia de Lille. “Table Mountain’s inauguration as one of the New 7 Wonders of Nature is a worthy recognition of this symbol that we all own and cherish. This title will also bring tremendous direct economic and socio-economic benefits to our city and our country.”
Immediately after the concert a specially constructed Table Mountain float will join a vibrant procession of other floats representing Cape icons in a trip through the city. This will be followed by the switch on of Adderley Street’s festive lights by Mayor De Lille, marking the official start to the holiday season.
“Our Mountain being named a New 7 Wonder of Nature is genuine cause for rejoicing and we hope residents flock to the Grand Parade and Adderley Street to celebrate this incredible achievement,” says Sabine Lehmann, chairperson of the Table Mountain OSC. “Each of the New 7 Wonders of Nature sites have hosted celebrations and now it’s our turn!”
Table Mountain’s status as one of the New 7 Wonders of Nature became official after an international audit confirmed the result of a global voting process in May this year. International voting had closed on 11 November 2011 when the provisional New 7 Wonders sites were announced.
The African icon will be the sixth site to host its inauguration ceremony following the Puerto Princesa Underground River, the Amazon, Komodo Island, Halong Bay and Iguazu Falls. The seventh site, Jeju Island, will host its inauguration ceremony in 2013.
A second New 7 Wonders plaque will be unveiled in Pretoria on Monday, 3 December. The Pretoria ceremony will take place at Muckleneuk, the headquarters of South African National Parks.
Paddy Gordon, manager of Table Mountain for SA National Parks said the park’s sound ecological principles played a vital role in its success in being voted a New 7 Wonder of Nature.
“Table Mountain National Park has a broad visitor base as diverse as the biodiversity of the park. As custodians of the park, we understand the relationship between its visitors and the natural environment and manage the park so that we can present all visitors with an ecological system that is a benchmark for the globe.
“It is wonderful to receive acknowledgement from the people of the globe for the work we do in maintaining the delicate ecology of our wondrous mountain” he says.
For information about Table Mountain’s official inauguration as a New 7 Wonder of Nature visit www.tablemountain.net or follow @tablemountainca on Twitter.
