The first weekend in December saw huge celebrations for everyone involved in the campaign to get Table Mountain recognised as one of the New7Wonders of Nature.
Initially chosen from a list of over 400 other sites, the final confirmation that Table Mountain had been selected as one of the New7Wonders of Nature came earlier this year. However, it wasn’t until dignitaries starting arriving last week that the reality started sinking in.
The past four years had all been about this moment. Officials from the New7Wonders Foundation made their way to the Mother City, accompanied by delegates from the other sites selected for the prestigious title: Halong Bay, Puerto Princesa Underground River, Komodo, the Amazon, Iguazu Falls and Jeju Island. Local celebrities, volunteers, foreign tourists and South Africans all pulled together to encourage as many people as possible to vote for Table Mountain, and make it into the top seven natural wonders.
Flow Communications has been part of the journey at almost every step. The Vote For Table Mountain website was set up to help voters cast their ballot. Flow also helped with the social media aspect of the campaign, drawing massive numbers of visitors to the site. Once again, we were also there to document the celebrations.
Sunday morning’s inauguration event took place at the boardwalk near to the Lower Cableway Station. New7Wonders Founder-President, Bernard Weber, along with Cape Town Executive Mayor, Alderman Patricia de Lille, officially presented the New7Wonders of Nature commemorative plaque to officials and members of the press. But the party had only just started.
On Sunday evening, the City of Cape Town held its Festive Lights celebration, where the famous lights that adorn Adderley Street and surrounds are switched on. A second inauguration ceremony was held for the public’s benefit at The Grand Parade, since it was a collective, democratic effort by ordinary people that helped Table Mountain clinch the title. And this year, the switch-on was followed by a parade through the streets of the city. New7Wonders delegates all clambered into an open-topped City Sightseeing bus and joined in with the carnival-style celebrations, making their way through Cape Town in pursuit of a giant, rotating Table Mountain float.
Check out the video below.
Lastly, Flow was present for the third and final inauguration ceremony at the SANParks head office in Pretoria, where CEO Dr David Mabunda received the commemorative plaque on behalf of the Table Mountain National Park.
Sabine Lehmann, MD of the Table Mountain Aerial Cableway, said: “the entire Flow team from Joburg to Cape Town was an integral part of ensuring that the New7Wonders Campaign was spread far and wide. Thanks again Flow, we could never in a million years have done it with out you!
“Your contribution has been recognised in that the campaign is being quoted as an example of how to run a good campaign! Well done all.”