Race is on for Cliffs of Moher balloons

SCHOOLCHILDREN from across North Clare took part in a spectacular visual display at the Cliffs of Moher on Tuesday as part of the tourist attraction’s campaign to be selected as one of the New Seven Wonders of Nature.

A total of 700 primary school children formed a giant ‘7’ on the cliff side and simultaneously released 700 biodegradable balloons, marking the start of the Great Cliffs Balloon Race.
Each balloon is printed with the Vote for the Cliffs logo and a contact message to encourage people who find the balloons to contact the Cliffs. A prize will be awarded to the person who finds the balloon that has travelled the furthest distance.
The iconic County Clare landmark was shortlisted in the New Seven Wonders of Nature competition in July 2009, along with 27 other sites, from over 440 participants representing 220 countries. In excess of one hundred million votes were cast in a global poll to determine the shortlisted sites.
Among the other shortlisted sites are the Amazon Rainforest, Table Mountain in South Africa, the Black Forest in Germany, Vesuvius in Italy, Ecuador’s Galapagos Islands, The Great Barrier Reef in Australia and The Grand Canyon.
“We are very grateful to the schoolchildren and their families for making today’s spectacular visual display possible.
“The Great Cliffs Balloon Race will help spread the message about our bid to be named one the New Seven Wonders of Nature which, if successful, would be a major coup for Ireland to have one of the new seven wonders of nature,” said Katherine Webster, director of the Cliffs of Moher Visitor Experience.
“We are the only Irish entry remaining in the competition and the potential benefits for Ireland are enormous, particularly for Irish tourism, bringing in thousands of additional visitors to the country each year,” Ms Webster added.
The official New Seven Wonders of Nature list, which is subject to a worldwide poll, will be declared in November 2011 and competition organisers, Swiss non-profit New 7 Wonders Foundation, expect to collect a total of one billion votes in the campaign overall.
Votes can be cast at www.new7wonders.com/n7w.