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Former US President Barack Obama is celebrating the opening of his presidential centre in Chicago with a star-studded guest list that includes Bruce Springsteen, Stevie Wonder, Christina Aguilera, Bono, and former Presidents Joe Biden, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton.
The invite-only opening ceremony is taking place on Thursday, with Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama expected to speak. The event is being livestreamed.
Other celebrities slated to appear include Common, Jennifer Hudson, Mark Hamill, Eddie Vedder, John Legend, Marc Anthony and The Roots.
President Donald Trump is unsurprinsigly not among the announced guests. He called the $850 million (€740 million) centre a “total disaster” in a social media post in February.
According to Valerie Jarrett, the Obama Foundation’s chief executive and former Obama top adviser, tonight’s celebration “will reflect a spirit of inspiration and joy, with a big boost from the performers who are sharing their talent with us.”
She added, “We hope to inspire people everywhere to believe in their power to bring change home.”
What’s inside the Obama Presidential Centre?
The nearly 20-acre campus sits in Jackson Park on Chicago’s South Side, close to where Obama lived and first entered politics. It’s expected to draw more than a million visitors a year.
As well as a towering museum covering the political and personal story of the nation’s first Black president and first lady, the site includes a Chicago Public Library branch, basketball courts, a playground, an athletic centre and a picnic area.
“This is a safe space for people to come and, yes, reflect on the historic moments of this presidency and the campaigns, but also to come together as a community to think about what change you can bring to your own neighborhood,” Josh Harris, the Obama Foundation’s vice president of public engagement, said during a tour of the campus.
Visitors to the museum will get to walk into a life-sized replica of the Oval Office.
Several of the ballgowns Michelle Obama wore as first lady are displayed on mannequins behind glass, including a black and red dress designed by Narciso Rodriguez that the former first lady wore on Election Night in Chicago.
Visitors will also get a chance to touch swatches of the fabrics, including the rose gold chain-mail Atelier Versace evening gown she wore at her final state dinner in 2016.