Barbados’ Prime Minister, Mia Mottley, declared that pop diva, and fashion icon Rihanna will be awarded the title of National Hero. Announcing this at the ceremony of Barbados turning into a republic she said “May you continue to shine like a diamond,” Mottley said as the 33-year-old was honoured as a National Hero of Barbados. Mottley was referring to Rihanna‘s chart-topping track “Diamonds,” which she released in 2012.
Rihanna is the new National Hero of Barbados as it attains Republic Status
For the award event Rihanna wore a brown dress with a halter detail draped around the neckline with a flowing silhouette that reached her ankles. She paired it with brown stilettos having a pencil heel and chunky earrings.
Barbados had already conferred the title of ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary on the billionaire multiple Grammy-winning singer and businesswoman in 2018 and tasked her with encouraging education and tourism.
The “Umbrella” songstress commanded “the imagination of the world through the pursuit of excellence with her creativity, her discipline, and above all else, her extraordinary commitment to the land of her birth,” Prime Minister Mia Mottley told the assembled dignitaries at the “Pride of Nationhood” celebrations on Tuesday.
Rihanna’s achievement has been lauded and congratulated by the internet community. “Congratulations to Robyn Rihanna Fenty, the Right Honourable. A Twitter user said, “She’s officially a National HERO!” “Rihanna went from singing Mariah Carey’s ‘Hero’ to being a national hero of Barbados,” another said. “I’m overjoyed.” Take a look at some of the tweets below.
Barbados gained independence from the UK in November 1966, more than three centuries after English settlers landed and transformed the island into a prosperous sugar colony reliant on the labour of hundreds of thousands of African slaves.
The island has begun to distance itself from its colonial heritage in recent decades. Barbados dropped the Privy Council in London in 2005 and picked the Caribbean Court of Justice in Trinidad as its final court of appeal.
It then planned a vote on becoming a republic in 2008, but it was postponed indefinitely.
Barbados declared preparations to end its constitutional monarchy last year, and a statue of British Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson was removed from National Heroes Square, the site of the republic’s celebration.
According to Suleiman Bulbulia, Barbados’ flag, coat of arms, and national song will remain the same, but specific allusions may change.