Former President Barack Obama formally opened his presidential center<\/a> in Chicago on Thursday with a call to defend democracy as three former presidents joined him on stage in an extraordinary event featuring politicians, A-list celebrities, athletes and other internationally known figures.<\/p>\n \u201cI hope this center will serve as an affirmation of just how special, how precious our democracy truly is and remind us what we can achieve when we embrace our shared responsibilities as citizens,\u201d the nation\u2019s first Black president told the crowd.<\/p>\n Bono, John Legend, Christina Aguilera, Marc Anthony and Eddie Vedder took turns on the stage ahead of Bruce Springsteen and Stevie Wonder, who closed the show singing \u201cHigher Ground\u201d as the former presidents, world leaders and others danced along<\/a>.<\/p>\n President Donald Trump was conspicuous both in his physical absence and by not being mentioned by any of the speakers or performers. Trump called the $850 million center a \u201ctotal disaster\u201d in a social media post in February.<\/p>\n Obama voiced his support for character, honesty, integrity, kindness, compassion and sense of duty, praising both Democrats and Republicans, including those he defeated.<\/p>\n \u201cEvery president here today, as different as we are, has tried our best to uphold values that John McCain and Mitt Romney believed in no less than I did,\u201d Obama said. \u201cIt is our greatest inheritance.\u201d<\/p>\n Reflecting on his arrival in Chicago in 1985 as an untested political organizer, he said he could not have built the Obama Presidential Center<\/a> anywhere else. He met his future wife Michelle nearby, their wedding reception was within walking distance, his children were born in the neighborhood and he launched his first candidacy not far away.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s an expression of thanks, an acknowledgment that so much of what I hold most dear I owe to the people of this city and the people of the surrounding neighborhoods,\u201d Obama said.<\/p>\n The Obamas and their daughters shared the stage with former presidents Joe Biden, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton along with former first ladies Jill Biden, Laura Bush and Hillary Rodham Clinton. Former Vice President Kamala Harris and many other leading Democrats were in the audience.<\/p>\n Michelle Obama spoke directly to her husband when she stepped up to the podium. \u201cEight years in the crucible and not once did you melt in the heat. Not once did you let it harden you.<\/p>\n \u201cInstead, you used it to reveal your truest essence,\u201d she said. \u201cYour stubborn optimism and unflinching courage. Your dazzling brilliance and unpretentious decency. Your ferocious work ethic and absolutely unshakable moral fiber. And to do it all as a first.\u201d<\/p>\n She ticked off highlights from her husband’s eight years in office, including ordering the raid<\/a> that led to the killing of Osama bin Laden, \u201cstanding up for marriage equality\u201d and \u201clistening to science.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAnd you did it all with such grace and class and cool,\u201d she said. \u201cYou made the hardest job in the world look like a walk in this beautiful park.\u201d<\/p>\n Obama appeared to wipe away a tear as she praised him.<\/p>\n Michelle Obama also referenced the current \u201canxious and divisive times\u201d and warned against being cynical or complacent as \u201ceverything feels so upside down.\u201d She pitched the center as \u201ca respite from all that.\u201d<\/p>\n Jennifer Hudson sang the national anthem and Aguilera delivered a rousing rendition of \u201cWhat a Wonderful World.\u201d Pearl Jam\u2019s Vedder, joined by Chicago teenagers in the nonprofit Guitars Over Guns program, sang an original song called \u201cBetter Believe,\u201d written just for the dedication.<\/p>\n Legend sang \u201cSomeday We\u2019ll All Be Free\u201d and was joined by the rapper Common and Uniting Voices Chicago for their Academy Award-winning song \u201cGlory.\u201d<\/p>\n Bono, who said he was representing the Irish, joined with The Edge in singing the U2 song \u201cCity of Blinding Lights.\u201d The Roots served as the house band. And Springsteen sang \u201cLand of Hopes and Dreams\u201d before turning to the Obamas and saying \u201cI love you.\u201d<\/p>\n Wonder sang \u201cAll I Do\u201d and \u201cSigned, Sealed, Delivered (I’m Yours)\u201d before the grand finale, joined by the performers who preceded him.<\/p>\n The VIP crowd included several potential 2028 Democratic presidential candidates; civil rights leaders Andrew Young and Al Sharpton; Oprah Winfrey; comedians David Letterman, Conan O\u2019Brien and Stephen Colbert; actor Tom Hanks; tennis legend Billie Jean King and Chicago Cubs Chairman Tom Ricketts.<\/p>\n Former world leaders in attendance included former German Chancellor Angela Merkel and former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.<\/p>\n The three-hour invite-only celebration included commentary from a nearby park where thousands gathered, and it was livestreamed to many more. It kicks off a weekend of events<\/a> as the center opens to the general public on Juneteenth<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is not a monument to the Obamas,\u201d said Valerie Jarrett, the Obama Foundation\u2019s chief executive and former Obama top adviser. \u201cThis is a tribute to all those who made this journey possible.\u201d<\/p>\n The opening, like the ribbon-cuttings of other presidential libraries over the years, had a heavy focus on accomplishments. This former president also expressed some regrets \u2014 such as the increase in political polarization during his two terms. \u201cIt\u2019s one of the few regrets of my presidency \u2014 that the rancor and suspicion between the parties has gotten worse instead of better,\u201d Obama said in his final State of the Union.<\/p>\n \u201cSome of the exhibits reflect unfinished business,\u201d Obama said Thursday. \u201cIn some cases, my own shortcomings and mistakes.\u201d<\/p>\n General admission tickets for the center are sold out through the end of October. More than a million visitors a year are expected at the nearly 20-acre campus.<\/p>\n Associated Press writer Mike Catalini contributed to this report from Washington, D.C.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n \u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n \u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.springfieldnewssun.com \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Former President Barack Obama formally opened his presidential center in Chicago on Thursday with a call to defend democracy as three former presidents joined him on stage in an extraordinary event featuring politicians, A-list celebrities, athletes and other internationally known figures. \u201cI hope this center will serve as an affirmation of just how special, how […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2470822,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25173],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2470821","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-artists"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Obama-Center-opens-in-Chicago-with-a-call-to-defend.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2470821","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2470821"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2470821\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2470823,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2470821\/revisions\/2470823"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2470822"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2470821"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2470821"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2470821"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Michelle had some emotional words for her husband<\/h2>\n
A-list entertainers sang inspirational anthems and protest songs<\/h2>\n
Event kicked off weekend of celebration<\/h2>\n