Joy in Greece as Mount Olympus joins Unesco list of world heritage sites

A statue of Alexander the Great holding Nike, the Greek goddess of victory, with Mount Olympus in the background. Photograph: Petros Giannakouris/AP

After a 12-year wait, Mount Olympus, the mythical home of the ancient Greek gods, has been inducted into a hall of more modern fame as Unesco announced it would be added to its world heritage list.

Greece’s highest mountain made the list alongside the second world war D-day landing beaches in northern France and the ancient Japanese capitals of Asuka and Fujiwara. South Sudan’s Boma-Badingilo landscape, host to one of the world’s largest land mammal migrations, also won a designation – a first for the east African country.