There have been some press reports concerning the investment aspects of the New7Wonders Official Host, which are not correct and have not been verified with New7Wonders.
Concerning this reported statement “New7Wonders asked the government to pay US$45m”, please note the following. New7Wonders has never asked the government to pay anything, it has offered the country of Indonesia the opportunity to invest in the New7Wonders Official Host. New7Wonders is contracted with the private sector, not the government. Should the government wish to support the New7Wonders Official Host opportunity, as it said it wants to, then its commitment is in the range of only US$10m, in exchange for hundreds of millions of promotional value for Indonesia.
In New7Wonders continued spirit of transparency, here is the full breakdown of correct numbers concerning the New7Wonders Official Host. These are based on the legally binding contract signed by New7Wonders with the Private Consortium.
1. License fee for the exclusive rights to be the Official Host: the Private Consortium offered US$10m, which was accepted by New7Wonders. The Ministry of Culture and Tourism is completely aware of this number, and has been for some months, and based on the statements made publicly in the media and in writing, this is something it was pledging to support. This is also why the Private Consortium signed the legally binding contract with New7Wonders.
2. The cost of the production of the event and venue hiring, paid for by the Private Consortium, approximately US$10m (this number can change depending on the ambition of the event organisers and the country). A big part of this is invested back into Indonesian production service companies, which is good for the country. This is refinanced by sponsor and other support, as well as additional revenues shared by New7Wonders with the Private Consortium such as from telephone voting. This overall generates a profit for the Private Consortium, thus creating economic value in the country.
It has been estimated that the value benefit of the New7Wonders Official Host in Indonesia, in terms of promotional, image, marketing and brand value, ranges from over US$200m to over US$1 billion depending on the criteria of calculation.
It has also been published that the value for the winning wonders is in excess of US$5 billion in terms of economic and tourims benefits.
Commenting on this transparent release of information by New7Wonders, Eamonn Fitzgerald, spokesperson, said “We completely understand that certain government departments can decide to pull back from their previous pledges, and not do their part to support this. It is a decision they can make, fully aware of the consequences.”
He continued: “The fact remains that there is a legally binding contract between New7Wonders and a Private Consortium in Indonesia, and this contract is not being honoured. Unless the contract is honoured, or another group takes over the contractual obligations, or the government and private sector decide to work together to resolve this, then New7Wonders cannot operate legally safely in Indonesia and is forced to withdraw all its activities.”
“If the government and all other parties seek to find a solution to this, without trying to justify any previous indecision with false numbers, then the way forward is there, and New7Wonders continues to remain committed to a rapid and positive solution,” he concluded.