Ha Long Bay’s World Wonder tender receives a boost

Vietnamese people will have the chance to vote for Ha Long Bay as a new World Wonder through a TV programme to be broadcast live on October 29.

The live programme will be concurrently aired on Vietnam Television’s Channel 1 (VTV1) linking four places: Ha Long Bay in the northeastern province of Quang Ninh, the capital city of Hanoi, the former imperial city of Hue city in the central region and Ho Chi Minh City. 

Famous figures, including pop stars, will vote for the bay and deliver messages calling on audiences to take part in the vote.   

Ha Long Bay has been twice recognised as a World Natural Heritage site by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO). 

The programme will help promote the image of the World Heritage site of Ha Long Bay and Vietnam as well, said Nguyen Van Tinh, head of the International Cooperation Department under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MoCST) at a press briefing in Hanoi on October 19. 

Vietnamese people can vote for Ha Long Bay by logging on www.new7wonders.com and Facebook and using the SMS service. 

The voting will be closed at 11.11am (GMT) on November 11, 2011.