Fittingly, the ceremony is due to take place on August 4, the day America’s new leader celebrates his 48th birthday. Antigua’s Prime Minister Baldwin Spencer announced the plan last November but only recently revealed the date and its significance, saying he joined “people of colour all over the world, and, indeed, all people in celebrating Obama’s inauguration.”

Today, Boggy Peak, which rises 1,300ft over Antigua’s southern point, is popular with hikers, but in the late 17th century its forested slopes were sometimes a hiding place for runaway slaves.

While some cynics have questioned Mr Spencer’s motives behind this popular decision, the great majority see it as a reflection of Antigua’s continuing development. They take the view that his decision gives islanders a psychological boost through shared links with African ancestry, and also gives Antigua’s vital tourist industry an added cultural heritage dimension.

In addition, a number of benefits will spring from the increase in real estate value that will follow the name change. Many people expect it to open doors to much-needed job creation, on an island suffering 11 percent unemployment, by adding value to one of Antigua’s great landmarks. The advantages of establishing links between Antigua and famous people is something that has been recognised by the island in the last few years.

Fortunate son
So it seemed almost natural that Antigua’s most famous son, cricketing legend Sir Viv Richards, should become involved in the promotion and development of a luxury resort, which has generated publicity and interest around the globe. Swapping the cricket cap for a hardhat came easily to the man once rated one of the greatest Test batsmen of all time, and he was more than happy to talk about his new interest in property development.

Shrewdly, Sir Viv bought a 4.47acre site at Willoughby Bay, in the southeast of the island, in the Seventies for “just thousands of dollars.” The cash for the plot, probably one of the best on Antigua, came from his first professional cricket earnings, and he was given a good price by the government of a poor but grateful nation.

When choosing the plot, he took the advice of a surveyor friend, and real estate experts now estimate its value has added a nought for each passing decade. Today, undeveloped waterfront land sells for well in excess of £250,000 an acre.

Sir Viv, once nicknamed “The Master Blaster,” has financed the first stage of Sporting Icons Resorts, a joint venture with a developer experienced in building high-value Caribbean property.

There are nine villas, of which two have already been sold, and prices start at about £1.4million for a 4,000sq ft three-bedroom villa, rising to about £1.9million for the top-of-the-range “Sir Vivian” villa, with its six bedrooms and floor-to-ceiling windows set in a third of an acre plot.

For that sort of money, it is easy to see where the Sporting Icons tag came from. It’s helpful to be one if you set your heart on one of these highly desirable homes, although Sir Viv, 56, said: “This is just a theme. If you come and you can afford it, you can be living on the Sporting Icons complex.” Sir Viv, who expects the project to generate about £14million, added: “This is the biggest thing I’ve ever done in my life.”

Cricket has played a vital role in the recent development of Antigua, which has a higher standard of living than most other Caribbean countries. Two years ago, the Cricket World Cup provoked a solid growth in the economy from 2003 until the actual event in 2007, with a surge of more than 12 percent in 2006.

Inevitably, growth dropped away last year (2008), with tourism continuing to dominate the economy, accounting for almost 60 percent of GDP and 40 percent of investment. Future prospects will continue to revolve around tourist arrivals from America, Canada and Europe.

Thanks to a combination of factors – Sir Viv’s efforts as an ambassador for the island, the lure of top-flight cricket and a concerted effort by the government to attract money to the island – Antigua has more than its fair share of property-owning celebrities.

Buy a villa on the island, which measures only 14 by 11 miles, and you could find yourself in a restaurant with Eric Clapton or Oprah Winfrey at the next table, or rubbing shoulders with Giorgio Armani, novelist Ken Follett and 007 movie star Timothy Dalton. They each own a holiday hideaway on Antigua.

The emphasis on development over the last decade or so has always been on the luxury market, and the government is dedicated to developing tourism – but not at the expense of the environment. Tourism Minister Harold Lovell says: “We aim to keep the island as a niche destination. We have a beach for every day of the year and we will not permit development on all of them. Unlike other Caribbean islands, we will not allow the goose that laid the golden egg to be killed.”

This policy is reflected by an exclusive development, Elle Antigua, just ten minutes from the international airport in the north of Antigua. When it is complete it will comprise 21 country garden cottages, townhouses and waterfront properties built around a five-star boutique hotel which has been converted from a 17th century plantation house, set in tranquil, lush and colourful tropical vegetation.

Prices range from £409,000 for a three-bedroom townhouse to £781,500 for a two-bedroom waterfront cottage with private plunge pool. The hotel includes a gourmet restaurant, 24-hour butler service and a health and beauty spa, and owners of properties at Elle Antigua have full access to all the facilities featured on the three-acre site.

Avoid the celebrity price tag
Last May, a report by Knight Frank revealed that the value of prime property in Antigua rose by 40 percent in two years. It is still possible, however, to track down an investment property or holiday or retirement home that doesn’t carry a celebrity price tag.

At Nonsuch Bay, a 40-acre site on Antigua’s secluded east coast, a new two-bedroom apartment can be snapped up for about £255,000. Construction of high-spec villas, townhouses and apartments are due to be completed by Easter, all with direct beach access, waterfront living and breathtaking ocean views.

Despite the economic downturn, Antigua and the neighbouring island of Barbuda continue to reap the benefits of a booming global cruise tourism industry. President of the Antigua and Barbuda Cruise Tourism Association Nathan Dundas said “While we see that the hotel sector is hurting…the cruise sector continues to bring a steady flow of passengers to our islands.”

In one day at the end of last December, Antigua and Barbuda recorded more than 8,000 passengers and 3,000 crewmembers from ship calls to the country’s ports. Tourism bosses are proud to have been given the accolade “the world’s best beach resort for families” by the Sunday Times travel team but are quick to point to the island’s many other attractions. They include paddling a kayak through mangroves, cricket tournaments, tennis competitions and turtle watching at Pasture Beach, Jumby Bay. The nightlife is good, too.

The life aquatic
Every Sunday night, tourists and locals head for the Shirley Heights “Jump Up,” where they enjoy a barbecue and chill out to reggae and steel bands at a huge sunset party at this historic fort atop English Harbour. Anything up to 1,000 people turn up for this un-missable event in the height of the sailing season. That’s what Antigua is really all about. There are yachts everywhere, and Antigua Sailing Week in late April and early May is rated one of the world’s top three regattas. With the island small enough to sail around in a day, this is a great place to charter or hire a yacht, too. You can even sail across to sister island Barbuda and its Frigate Bird Sanctuary.

If you crave even more excitement at sea, there are also deep-sea fishing charters that help big game anglers land large tuna and marlin, and speedboat trips. Beneath the waves, Antigua has beautiful coral reefs that are a wonder to dive or snorkel, and you can even visit the remnants of an old pirate shipwreck.

In places such as the aptly-named English Harbour, on the southeastern coast, there are many reminders of the time in the late 18th century when Captain Horatio Nelson spent three years on Antigua as a young captain. Nelson helped Britain build a naval base here at English Harbour to maintain the warships which captured valuable sugar islands and cut off enemy trade. Now called Nelson’s Dockyard National Park, it is the only surviving working Georgian dockyard in the world and features beautifully preserved, wood buildings, as well as restored stone warehouses and 200-year-old workshops.

On an island that claims to have 365 beaches, accommodating every type of sun-worshipper from picnickers to nudists, it’s hard to pick just one. But top of the list for many people is Long Bay, on the eastern coast, where lovely coral reefs are within wading distance of the shore. Those who want to be alone should head for the privacy of the four beaches at Hawksbill on a western coast peninsula. At Wallings Forest Reserve, nature-lovers can enjoy the shade of the wide-spreading branches of the silk cotton trees and the snake-like aerial roots that hang from bearded fig trees..