There was great excitement worldwide yesterday when it was announced that the long-awaited and much-anticipated short list was ready.
There has been intense speculation about who would make it onto the list since last August. That was when voting closed and an international panel of experts was convened to judge the nominations.
More than a thousand nominations were received from members of the public in all the countries involved. They included people from all walks of life and all ages.
Now the short list has been prepared and its contents will be unveiled at a special ceremony on Saturday.
There will then be a six-month period during which the final judging panel will decide the winner.
Said a spokesman: "This is exciting."
