Former German Chancellor Angela Merkel attended the opening of the Barack Obama Presidential Center in Chicago, Illinois, along with other former heads of government, including former Canadian and Italian prime ministers Justin Trudeau and Matteo Renzi. As DPA International notes, Merkel's unannounced appearance was greeted with a standing ovation at the ceremony.
The ceremony took place on Thursday, June 18, next to an eight-story concrete building in Chicago’s South Side, which, during its construction in 2021, was popularly dubbed “Obamalisk” (by analogy with an obelisk).
Among the guests celebrating the 44th head of the White House were also former US Presidents George W. Bush, Bill Clinton and Joe Biden and their wives. Incumbent President Donald Trump was not invited to the event. Former Vice President Kamala Harris, who lost the 2024 presidential election to Trump, attended the ceremony.
Former US presidents and world leaders appeared at the grand opening of the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago https://t.co/ISQ6GPz6D4 pic.twitter.com/1ICRLAp4M6
— Bloomberg (@business) June 18, 2026
As USA Today adds, the opening of the Obama Center was also attended by show business stars who supported the Democrat during his presidency from 2009 to 2017 and election campaigns. Among them were TV presenter Oprah Winfrey, Oscar-winning actor Tom Hanks and Star Wars director George Lucas.
For three and a half hours, speeches in honor of Obama were interspersed with musical numbers. The US anthem was performed by singer and actress Jennifer Hudson, and Christina Aguilera performed a cover of Louis Armstrong's What a Wonderful World. The event was headlined by the ex-president himself, Bruce Springsteen and Stevie Wonder.
Obama concluded his speech by quoting civil rights activist Martin Luther King's remarks about the “arc of the moral universe” that “bends toward justice.” The opening of the center was timed to coincide with the Emancipation Day in the United States (Juneteenth), which is celebrated on June 19.
“With this spirit we are opening the center. This same spirit will carry America through its challenges today,” Obama said.
Center, but not the presidential library
The Barack Obama Presidential Center is not his official presidential library (it is in Maryland) and was built with money from private donors. According to the Chicago Sun-Times, donations of over $50 million were made by six investors, including Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos (he invested $100 million in the Obama Center).
According to the publication, the total cost of the project was $850 million. The decision to separate it from the state presidential library allowed Obama to avoid having to share the budget with the US National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), as well as coordinate the Brutalist architectural design with it, the media adds.
It means so much to Barack and me to open up the Obama Presidential Center on the South Side of Chicago. This is where I grew up, where Barack got his start, and where we raised our girls. So having a place where kids from our community can see themselves, connect with each… pic.twitter.com/xDYHfktnJ9
— Michelle Obama (@MichelleObama) June 16, 2026
As Block Club Chicago notes, tickets to the center, where an exhibition about the life and career of Obama and his wife Michelle is located, cost $26 for residents of the state of Illinois, which he represented in the US Senate, and $30 for tourists from other states and countries.
There are also reduced rates for children under 11 years old, but all tickets are already sold out until November 1st. Free Tuesdays for Illinois residents are reserved until November 30th.
Without a ticket, visitors to the center will be able to go to the observation deck, as well as to the courtyard of the institution. The center will open a fitness center, a children's playground and a branch of the Chicago city library network. It will feature a selection of favorite books by Obama and his wife, but for the reason already mentioned, it will not be possible to find archival records of the Democrat's presidency.
As the head of the Obama Foundation, Valerie Jarrett, who led the project, explained the situation in an interview with Smithsonian Magazine, the center is designed to “inspire and motivate people,” and the creation of a paper archive in it, according to her, was unnecessary. All 1.5 billion documents from the Obama White House are available online as part of his state presidential library, as the Democrat became the “first digital president,” his team emphasizes.
