Spice Girl Melanie Brown has been named as the UK “face” of Caribbean island Nevis to raise the profile of one of the smallest destinations in the West Indies.
The Wannabe pop star, better known to her fans as Mel B or Scary Spice, will take on the role of UK Tourism Ambassador for Nevis with immediate effect.
The 46-year-old singer and actor was born and raised in Leeds before finding fame with the girl power group, but her father Martin was from the island.
She first travelled to the island as a child and visited again in 2018 to pay her respects following the death of her Nevisian paternal great-grandmother at the age of 107.
The appointment comes two month after Nevis, which has a population of just 11,000, fully reopened to vaccinated travellers by dropping a three day quarantine requirement.
The Commonwealth territory - the smaller part of the Federation of St Kitts and Nevis - is best known for its beaches, its 985m volcanic peak and as the birthplace of US founding father Alexander Hamilton. Current famous residents include Monty Python comedy legend John Cleese.
Ms Brown said: “I feel incredibly honoured to be asked to be an ambassador for Nevis. Nevis is not just part of where I come from but it is part of who I am, it is my dad’s home country and it is still the place where so many members of my family still live.
“For me this is a huge deal. I’m excited to know more about this beautiful island and I’m excited to share that knowledge with the rest of the world. I want to put Nevis on the map.”
She said on her Instagram account, which has 1.5 million followers: “It’s the most incredible island in the world and I want to help make sure EVERYONE sees just how amazingly beautiful it truly is.”
Devon Liburd, chief executive of the Nevis Tourism Authority: “We are so proud to call Melanie a Nevisian, from her success as Spice Girl, both musically and the difference she made in society, to the wonderful work that she is doing with Women’s Aid and now she is recognised as a MBE, she is a true inspiration to us all.”
“We are honoured and excited to be working with Melanie to showcase all that this beautiful island has to offer and the first job in her new role will be to come back and visit us all.”
