Jackson Park was full of famous faces Thursday as former President Barack Obama, his family and his supporters celebrated the opening of the Obama Presidential Center, a museum, public campus and library in the heart of his South Side stomping grounds.
The crowd included local politicians, celebrities ranging from Mark Hamill to LL Cool J and David Letterman; and athletes including tennis legend Billie Jean King and basketball stars Dwyane Wade and Isiah Thomas. Marsai Martin served as the official correspondent for the watch party, held at Midway Plaisance — off site, but not far from the center.
The opening ceremony also boasted a festival-worthy lineup of performers. Here are some of the cultural icons, sports figures and politicians in attendance.
Musical performers:
Christina Aguilera
Aguilera sang a cover of Louis Armstrong’s “What a Wonderful World.” She previously joined Barack Obama at a Democratic National Finance Committee fundraiser in Los Angeles in 2018, where she performed at a private residence.
Marc Anthony
Anthony performed his 2013 hit song “Vivir Mi Vida.” He endorsed Obama for president in 2012 and joined him on the campaign trail to rally Latino voters. The former president’s official 2013 inauguration playlist, curated by Obama himself, includes Anthony’s 2007 cover of the Hector Lavoe song “Mi Gente.”
Common
The Chicago native, rapper and producer has a long history with the former president. He was invited to the White House in 2011 to perform a poem in an evening celebrating American music and literature. In a 2021 appearance on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon,” Common said that the former president still owes him a one-on-one game of basketball.
Jennifer Hudson
Hudson sang the national anthem. Michelle Obama appeared on an episode of “The Jennifer Hudson Show” last year, where she spoke with Hudson about motherhood, marriage and her South Side roots.
John Legend
Legend covered 1973’s “Someday We’ll All Be Free” by Chicagoan Donny Hathaway. He was executive producer on the film “Southside With You,” which is the story of how Barack and Michelle Obama first met. He spent a good amount of time with the Obamas to make the movie, including a double date with his wife, model Chrissy Teigen.
The Roots
The Roots opened the ceremony. In 2018, Questlove curated a playlist for the release of Michelle Obama’s book, “Becoming.” He and Michelle Obama produced a podcast about Stevie Wonder called “The Wonder of Stevie.”
Bruce Springsteen
Springsteen performed his 2001 song “Land of Hope and Dreams.” A longtime friend of Obama, the iconic singer-songwriter has written and performed for decades about political themes. Years ago, the duo recorded a podcast together on Springsteen’s New Jersey farm, which later became a book, “Renegades: Born in the USA.”
Tems
Tems performed her hit “Me & U.” The Nigerian singer-songwriter was featured on Barack Obama’s 2022 and 2024 summer playlists.
U2 (Bono and The Edge)
Irish rockers U2 and the Obamas go way back: The band performed at Barack Obama’s first inauguration celebration in 2009. They performed “City of Blinding Lights” Thursday for the former president, who frequently lists the song as one of his favorite tracks. Bono’s friendship with the Obamas spans decades: They’ve been spotted grabbing lunch in New York City and have spent years collaborating on humanitarian efforts around poverty, HIV/AIDs and debt relief.
Eddie Vedder
Vedder performed an original song called “Better Believe” with a local nonprofit, Guitars Over Guns. The lead singer and guitarist of ’90s grunge band Pearl Jam has been a longtime supporter of the Obamas; as a part of a farewell concert at the end of Obama’s second presidential term, Vedder performed an acoustic set alongside the Chicago Children’s Choir.
Stevie Wonder
Wonder closed the performances with “All I Do” and “Signed, Sealed, Delivered (I’m Yours).” The Obamas chose Wonder’s 1972 track “You and I (We Can Conquer the World)” for their first dance as husband and wife at their 1992 wedding. Michelle Obama produced a podcast about Stevie Wonder, called “The Wonder of Stevie,” with Questlove from The Roots.
Entertainment:
Jon Batiste
Batiste has both collaborated with the Obamas as media producers and earned spots on the former president’s annual playlists. Barack Obama executive produced the documentary American Symphony, which follows tracks Batiste and his wife on her cancer journey. as they learn she has recurring cancer.
Ken Burns
Burns endorsed Obama for president in 2007 and compared the young senator to Abraham Lincoln. The pair have collaborated on film and media projects, including when Burns enlisted Obama as part of a project to encourage knowledge of the Gettysburg Address.
Tom Hanks and Oprah Winfrey
Two familiar voices will guide visitors as they navigate the Obama Presidential Center: Hanks and Winfrey narrate portions of the library tour. Hanks narrated a 2012 campaign video for the former president, while the retired talk show host Winfrey gave Obama an early endorsement in 2007.
George Lucas
In 2013, then-President Barack Obama awarded Lucas the National Medal of Arts during an event at the White House. Lucas spoke about Obama while on a promotional stop for a film in Japan in 2008, where he said the politician is “a hero in the making.” Lucas’ wife, Chicagoan and businesswoman Mellody Hobson, was also spotted.
Conan O’Brien
O’Brien interviewed then-senator Obama in May 2006 and pushed him on whether he’d run for president. The two have remained friendly over the years, with Obama appearing on Conan’s podcast.
Tyler Perry
Perry posted on Instagram that he “[f]lew halfway around the world just to be back for this moment.” The two men were caught in a famous photo at Perry’s home library taken during Black History Month in 2015, each standing beside chairs once owned by President Abraham Lincoln.
Steven Spielberg
Obama, who is close friends with Spielberg, dropped by the set of “Disclosure Day” as a surprise while the film was in production last year.
Athletes:
Isiah Thomas
When the Obama Presidential Center posted a video of the former president shooting hoops with NBA star Anthony Edwards, legendary point guard Isiah Thomas tweeted, “This is so dope!!! I gotta meet President Obama!!”
Dwyane Wade
Wade praised Obama’s game in 2012. “He was kind of like a point guard,” he told TIME Magazine. “He was passing a lot. He’s smooth — like he talks, like he walks.”
Bears president Kevin Warren; Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Chicago Cubs Tom Ricketts.
Politics:
Former President Joe Biden and former First Lady Jill Biden; former President George W. Bush and former First Lady Laura Bush; former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton; former Vice President Kamala Harris and Douglas Emhoff.
Former U.S. Ambassador Susan Rice; former U.S. Secretary of Commerce Bill Daley.
U.S. Sens. Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth; U.S. Rep. Nancy Pelosi.
Ill. Reps. Mike Quigley, Bobby Rush, Bill Foster, Jonathan Jackson, Danny Davis, Robin Kelly and Terri Sewell.
Gov. JB Pritzker and Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton; Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias; State Treasurer Michael Frerichs; Attorney General Kwame Raoul; State Sen. President Don Harmon; Comptroller Susana Mendoza; State Rep. La Shawn Ford.
Mayor Brandon Johnson; former Mayors Rahm Emanuel and Lori Lightfoot; Chicago Police Supt. Larry Snelling; Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom; Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro; former Canadian PM Justin Trudeau; former German Chancellor Angela Merkel; former Italian PM Matteo Renzi; presidential scholar Norm Ornstein; civil rights leader Al Sharpton.
Members of the Obama White House and campaign staffers:
White House videographer Arun Chaudhary; White House, Senate campaign and Obama Senate press secretary Robert Gibbs; Strategist Anita Dunn; Pollster Joel Benenson; Presidential campaign, White House Justice Department, Kevin Lewis; First lady comms Katie McCormick Lelyveld; Presidential campaign, White House Senior Advisor Dan Pfeiffer; Political consultant Pete Giangreco.