The Obama Presidential Center was dedicated Thursday, June 18, 2026, in Chicago with a star-studded ceremony featuring musical performances.
Performers announced for the dedication included Bruce Springsteen, Christina Aguilera, John Legend, Stevie Wonder and Jennifer Hudson, and the dedication featured performances by The Roots; John Legend and Common with Uniting Voices Chicago; Christina Aguilera; Jennifer Hudson; and Eddie Vedder with Guitars Over Guns.
Former President Barack Obama spoke at the dedication and said he hopes the center will affirm "how precious our democracy really is."
Former first lady Michelle Obama spoke at the dedication, calling it "an honor" to be by her husband's side.
Obama Foundation board chair Marty Nesbitt also spoke during the dedication ceremony.
Photos from the event showed former Presidents Joe Biden, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton and former first ladies Jill Biden, Laura Bush and Michelle Obama posing for a photo ahead of the dedication; other notable attendees pictured included former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, former second gentleman Doug Emhoff, former U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, Oprah Winfrey, David Letterman, Tom Hanks, Stephen Colbert, Conan O'Brien, Steven Spielberg, George Lucas and Mellody Hobson, Jill Vedder and Nancy Pelosi and her husband Paul Pelosi.
The campus covers more than 19 acres on the south side of Chicago and includes a towering museum, a branch of the Chicago Public Library, an NBA regulation-size basketball court, a Women's Garden, an auditorium, a media suite, a Wetland Walk, a fruit and vegetable garden and a playground.
The center is not a presidential library and will not house the former president's presidential documents; those documents are in the largely digital Barack Obama Presidential Library run by the National Archives, while the center has some records and artifacts on loan.
The opening was expected to draw political elites, White House alums, donors and business leaders aligned with the Democratic Party ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.
John Rogers said, "It's a celebration of Obama's historic candidacy and a celebration of the extraordinary work he did on behalf of our country." He added, "People will be talking about how important it is for us to take back the House of Representatives and the Senate, try to encourage all of us in this sort of dismal and disheartening period in our country that it is important for us to step up."
Valerie Jarrett said the Obama Foundation is a registered nonprofit and the site is officially nonpartisan, adding, "We want people from different political ideologies, from different perspectives on issues to come here and have a healthy conversation because that is what a democratic society is all about."
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos donated $100 million and requested the plaza be named after John Lewis, and more than a dozen S&P 500 companies, including Microsoft, PepsiCo and Nike, donated $1 million each or through foundations.
Some executives have been cautious about attendance, with Jeff Sonnenfeld saying, "They are not advertising the attendee list yet, because people want to avoid recriminations from Trump for attending."
The center's opening weekend began Thursday with performances at the dedication and the museum is scheduled to open to the public on Friday; people attended a watch party along the Midway Plaisance on June 18, 2026.
Photographs from the events also showed former President George W. Bush giving former first lady Michelle Obama mints ahead of the dedication on June 17, 2026, and Sasha and Malia Obama were pictured with their parents during the opening.