France’s D-Day landing beaches, Greece’s Mount Olympus among sites added to World Heritage List

Open this photo in gallery:Omaha Beach near Colleville-sur-Mer Normandy in June, 2024.Laurent Cipriani/The Associated PressThe Second World War’s D-Day landing beaches in northern France and the iconic Mount Olympus in Greece were among the sites added to the World Heritage List on Sunday at a UN committee meeting in South Korea reviewing dozens of nominations.The UNESCO committee, which meets in Busan through Wednesday, also inscribed the ancient Japanese capitals of Asuka and Fujiwara and South Sudan’s Boma-Badingilo Migratory Landscape, host to one of the world’s largest land mammal migrations and the country’s first addition to the World Heritage List.The French designation covers the five Normandy landing beaches – Omaha, Utah, Sword, Gold and Juno – where more than 150,000 Allied troops came ashore on June 6, 1944, along with the Pointe du Hoc assault site, all central to the campaign to liberate Western Europe from Nazi occupation during the Second World War. UNESCO adds West Bank site, Lebanese castles to World Heritage List despite Israeli objectionsInternational Council on Monuments and Sites, which evaluates submissions to the heritage committee, said the sites contain extensive remnants, from German fortifications and bomb-scarred landscapes to Allied harbour structures and sunken vessels, marking an “event widely perceived as having enabled the return of freedom and heralded a lasting peace on the European continent.”ICOMOS also called for stronger monitoring and preservation efforts on the sites, citing potential threats posed by tourism, climate change and rising sea levels, and the development of wind farms near the areas. Ahlem Gharbi, France’s permanent delegate to UNESCO, said the Normandy landings marked a turning point from global conflict toward a postwar order built on peace and security, and that the designation of the sites carries added significance at a time of escalating international crises and wars.“It’s probably the greatest amphibious landing there’s ever been. It ought to be remembered for that alone,” historian David Edgerton said in a recent interview with The Associated Press.Open this photo in gallery:The morning light shines on Mytikas, Greece's highest peak, center left, and Stefani, known as the Throne of Zeus, center right, atop Mount Olympus on July 15.Petros Giannakouris/The Associated PressThe World Heritage inscription of Mount Olympus, the mythical home of the 12 Olympian gods, rewarded a 12-year effort by Greece to secure recognition for its tallest mountain as a mixed cultural and natural heritage site. Rising 2,918 metres from a base near sea level, the mountain was believed to be the throne of Zeus, king of the gods, while also harbouring rich biodiversity.Evangelos Geroliolios, mayor of Dion-Olympus, a municipality at the foot of the mountain, said in a recent interview with the AP that inclusion on the World Heritage List “places greater obligations on our part to protect this environment,” citing the potential impact of increased tourism.“We reaffirm our unwavering commitment to safeguarding Mount Olympus for the benefit of present and future generations,” said Georgios Koumoutsakos, Greece’s delegate to UNESCO. “As Greek mythology wisely reminds us, it is always best to remain on good terms with gods.” The designated Japanese locations in the western prefecture of Nara cover 19 archeological sites from the 6th- to 8th-century capitals of Asuka and Fujiwara, where Japan established its first centralized state modelled after Chinese systems. The sites preserve the largely buried remains of royal palaces, government offices, Buddhist temples and tombs from capitals that influenced the later capitals of Nara and Kyoto. Open this photo in gallery:Fujiwara Palace Ruins in the foreground, with Mount Miminashi in the background in Kashihara, Japan in September, 2024.Uncredited/The Associated PressJapanese Vice Culture Minister Shigeki Kobayashi thanked the committee for inscribing the Asuka-Fujiwara sites and said Japan reaffirms its commitment to “transmitting this valuable property to the future generations.” Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, a Nara native, wrote on X that she hopes the World Heritage designation will boost tourism to the site. Yoshiyuki Aihara, a Nara University archaeology professor, told AP the sites are significant because they show how Japan’s ancient state was formed through influences from China and the Korean Peninsula. “If you dig underneath these rice paddies about one meter, you start finding a stretch of ruins in this area, though that’s not easy for ordinary visitors to understand,” said Aihara, who is continuing excavation work at the site.South Sudan’s Boma-Badingilo site encompasses vast wetlands, flood plains and savannahs shaped by seasonal rainfall and flood dynamics, with an estimated six million white-eared kob, tiang and Mongalla gazelles moving across the landscape in response to changing environmental conditions. It also provides habitat for elephants, lions, cheetahs and other wildlife while supporting various ethnic communities that have lived by herding, farming and fishing for centuries, according to UNESCO.