The Obama Foundation will hold a free watch party along the Midway Plaisance on June 18 to celebrate the opening of the Obama Presidential Center. The center’s official grand opening ceremony, set for 11 a.m., is an invite-only event. It features performances by global icons and storytelling about the Foundation’s efforts to inspire and empower communities.
If you wish to view the event, you can join the watch party at the Midway, located just west of the presidential center. The Midway Plaisance and the University of Chicago campus are key spots for the event on June 2, 2025. To attend, request forms for up to four free watch party tickets are available at obama.org/grandopening. Ticket applications must be submitted by May 26. However, space is limited, parking is not provided, and an application does not guarantee a ticket. The event will also stream online at obama.org.
The watch party offers a picnic-style atmosphere, and doors open at 9 a.m. Attendees can enjoy music, an art market, local food vendors, and exclusive merchandise.
Tickets to the museum for the opening weekend, beginning on Juneteenth, are already sold out. Much of the summer is sold out, but tickets are sporadically available after August 10. Locals snapped up reservations for free admission on Illinois Free Days, sold out through November.
The center provides a 90-minute campus tour, including art, architecture, landscape design, a museum ticket, and a line-skipping pass. This offering, priced at $75 to $95, depending on the day, is sold out through September 20. Museum tickets permit entry at reserved times. Still, other areas of the campus, such as the Chicago Public Library branch, playground, athletic center, surrounding park space, and the Sky Room atop the museum, are free and open to the public.
This announcement follows a series of updates on the center’s opening. These include new art commissions, final naming of museum spaces, and previews of the replica of Obama’s Oval Office.