Obamas open presidential centre in Chicago: 'Living celebration of community'

Former US President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama welcomed three former US presidents, dignitaries, celebrities, and the public to the Obama Presidential Center on Thursday. The campus is located in the Jackson Park neighbourhood on Chicago's South Side, near the couple's pre-White House home.

The 19.3-acre site serves as a monument to the eight years the Obamas spent in the White House, blending museum and reading room elements with community amenities such as a playground, basketball court, recording studio, and public library.

During the opening ceremony, Obama said the centre is not a 'lifeless mausoleum' but a 'vibrant, living celebration of community' where people can learn together and share art, music, sport, and play. He expressed gratitude to the people of Chicago and surrounding neighbourhoods, saying the centre could not be anywhere else.

Michelle Obama's speech moved her husband to tears. She urged visitors to put away their phones, talk, laugh, cry, make friends, work in her garden, swing children on the playground, and have romantic picnics. She emphasised that such neighbourliness and care for public spaces are the work of democracy.

The museum features items from Michelle Obama's tenure, including dresses she wore during key moments. Visitors can pose inside a replica of the Oval Office as it looked during Obama's presidency.

Former presidents George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and Joe Biden attended the event, along with former German Chancellor Angela Merkel and former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Current President Donald Trump, who has a long-running feud with Obama, was not invited. Several speakers, including the Obamas, alluded to Trump's policies, blaming them for political and cultural divisions and threats to democracy.

The festivities included performances by Jennifer Hudson, Christina Aguilera, John Legend, Common, Marc Anthony, U2's Bono and The Edge, Bruce Springsteen, Stevie Wonder, and Eddie Vedder. Vedder, a Pearl Jam frontman born in Illinois, performed an original song written with youth from the Guitars Over Guns programme.

Spectators expressed gratitude for the centre being placed on Chicago's South Side, highlighting its significance for the community.