Obama Presidential Center opening ceremony live updates: Watch and follow the dedication event

Michelle Obama reflected on the meaning of "a lasting legacy" during the opening celebration for the Obama center, telling supporters that it is measured not by “an award or name on a building or number of zeros in a bank account,” but by “the difference we make in one another’s lives.”

“It’s about seeing each other and showing up for each other and carrying each other when we’re weary or faltering or losing faith,” she said. “That’s how you build something that endures.”

The former first lady praised those who helped bring the center to life, saying their commitment and support shaped the extraordinary journey that made this moment possible.

It's unclear if Obama was also been making a veiled reference to President Donald Trump, a billionaire, in her comments. Trump has stirred controversy by changing the name of the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts to include his own and repeatedly asserting he should be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, which Obama himself won.

The Obama center dedication has drawn an influential mix of political leaders and celebrities, including actors Anne Hathaway and Tom Hanks. Both have been outspoken supporters of Barack Obama, having publicly endorsed and campaigned for him during his presidential runs.

Michelle Obama lavished praise on her husband for his presidential record and legacy, prompting rousing applause.

"You told me all those years ago that you couldn't promise me the world, but you could promise me an interesting life, and of course you outdid yourself and managed to give me both," she said in her speech.

The former first lady referred to his two terms as "eight years in the crucible," saying that "not once did you melt from the heat."

"Not once did you let it harden you," she said. "Instead, you used it to reveal your truest essence, your stubborn optimism and unflinching courage, your dazzling brilliance and unpretentious decency, your ferocious work ethic and absolutely unshakable moral fiber."

She added that his accomplishments all came while serving as the first Black president, noting "the higher standard that comes with all that."

Earlier in her remarks, the former first lady thanked people who worked on the center as well as the former presidents in attendance.

Martin Nesbitt, the Obama Presidential Center board chair and a former Obama campaign official, began his remarks with a reference to his tan suit.

"I love that tan suit!" Obama said, hugging Nesbitt after Nesbitt gestured with his suit jacket.

"How you all like my tan suit?" Nesbitt said as the audience cheered. "It was inspired by a very good friend of mine who made tan suits famous. And I don't know about the rest of you all, but I thought he looked pretty good wearing his, so I decided to wear one myself."

In 2014, Obama spurred criticism and jokes from Republicans and conservative commentators for wearing a tan suit at a White House press conference — which he has poked fun at as an exaggerated reaction to a trivial detail.

During the ceremony, artist John Legend performed the song “Someday We’ll All Be Free” by Donny Hathaway, a singer whose music was popular during the civil rights era for promoting racial justice.

After singing, Legend commented that the first time he met Barack Obama was almost 20 years ago, when Obama was a senator. Legend added Obama was still considering running for president at the time.

“We were so grateful to be a part of this entire journey from the beginning, so grateful to see this beautiful facility here, honoring all the work that the Obamas did, but that all of us did together,” Legend said before introducing a Chicago-based choir to the stage.

Pearl Jam lead singer and guitarist Eddie Vedder is performing an original song "Better Believe," written for the opening event with a group of young musicians.

Eddie Vedder performs with Guitars Over Guns during the dedication ceremony on Thursday. Win McNamee / Getty Images

"Now, President Obama was aware that I would be playing music with young musicians from the neighborhood, but when he heard we were writing an original piece, a song just for the occasion, he said that might be a lot of work, and as usual he was right," Vedder said before performing the song.

"But it's been great work, and it's everything the center stands for: its inclusivity, its access to resources, its mentorship and opportunity. So we thank you for this opportunity," he added.

Michelle Obama referred to her husband being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, a comment that the audience received with loud applause.

"You were doing the people's work," she said of Obama during his presidency.

"Rescuing our economy, expanding health care, ending a war, ordering the bin Laden raid, saving an auto industry, winning a peace prize," she said, pausing as the audience cheered.

Obama won the prize in 2009.

Trump has frequently made known his desire to receive the Nobel Peace Prize. He has not won the award.

Obama Foundation CEO Valerie Jarrett, a longtime adviser to the Obamas, and thanked former Presidents Joe Biden, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton and former first ladies Jill Biden, Laura Bush and Hillary Clinton for attending.

CEO of the Obama Foundation Valerie Jarrett during the dedication ceremony on Thursday. Win McNamee / Getty Images

"To President and Secretary Clinton, to President and Mrs. Bush, to President and Dr. Biden, all of our foreign dignitaries and elected officials who are here, we are honored by your presence," she said. "To our Obama campaign and White House teams, to our generous supporters, this day would not have been possible without you."

Jarrett recounted that she first met the Obamas 35 years ago.

"They were engaged to be married. Malia and Sasha were a glimmer in their eyes, and they were just beginning their careers," she said. "They didn't know what path their lives would take, but they were both committed to a life of service."

"This is not a monument to the Obamas, you guys. This is a tribute to all those who those who made their journey possible," she continued. "Inside this museum, and throughout this magnificent campus, you're going to find the stories of ordinary people who did extraordinary things, stories that show the inevitable zig and zag of our efforts to perfect this nation, but that nonetheless paved the way for Barack Obama's presidency and everything achieved during his eight years in office."

In an introduction video narrated by Barack Obama, the former president laid out what the South Side of Chicago meant to him and his goals for the center.

Obama said it was where “hope took root” for him.

It was there, Obama said, where he "started knocking on doors, where I learned to listen and found my voice, where I fell in love with Michelle and built a family and a community and a home."

"From this place, our circle and our aspirations grew, because the story of the South Side has always been a story and a possibility, and now we start writing a new chapter," he said.

The Obama Presidential Center would be "a place rooted in this community and built on a simple belief that we can come together and create the change we seek," he said.

President Donald Trump was not invited to today's Obama center dedication ceremony, a decision Obama Foundation CEO Valerie Jarrett said reflected the event’s focus on welcoming supporters of Obama and the work that brought the center to life.

“This is really an opportunity for those who’ve been supportive of President Obama and our efforts to thank them, to say to our supporters, many of the field organizers in Iowa, come on back and let us celebrate with you,” Jarrett told NBC News earlier this month. “And so that’s the purpose of this ceremony.”

Jarrett added that Trump would still be welcome to visit the center in the future.

“We have said that if President Trump would like to come and take a tour, we’d love to show him this campus and show him all the magnificent things that we have to offer, both to the people who live here and the people who visit from around the world.”

The Obama center is officially opening in Chicago’s Jackson Park with a star-studded dedication ceremony celebrating the nearly decadelong effort to create a hub for the community, and opens to the public tomorrow, on Juneteenth.

Chicago native Jennifer Hudson is performing the national anthem now.

Hudson is a longtime supporter of the Obamas and has EGOT status, meaning she's won Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony awards.

Jennifer Hudson performs during the dedication ceremony for the Barack Obama Presidential Center in in Chicago on Thursday. Scott Olson / Getty Images

Barack Obama and Michelle Obama were joined by their two daughters, Malia and Sasha, at the Obama Presidential Center’s dedication ceremony in Chicago today. 

Former President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden are in attendance at the ceremony, seated directly next to the Obama family on the stage.

Former President Bill Clinton and first lady Hillary Clinton walked across the stage hand-in-hand and then sat directly behind Barack and Michelle Obama. Former President George W. Bush and first lady Laura Bush also held hands while being introduced and sat next to the Clintons.

While speaking at a special celebration for 500 supporters and contributors to the center on Tuesday, former first lady Michelle Obama said she first toured the completed museum last week.

“To be able to look out across and see the South Side of Chicago, to see the beauty of our parks, to finally be able to see that there’s a lagoon over there that is safe to walk in, where children are playing and couples are holding hands, that Chicago wasn’t available to me my entire life," she said. "It was not available. It was closed down, it was boarded off, it was uncared for, it wasn’t invested in."

Former President Obama pointed out the spot where he first arrived in Chicago, describing how he was hired to organize on the South Side.

"Most of what has been important in my life is because of this place and the people here, because the people here taught me resilience and courage and hope,” he said. “When I went to Washington and when we started campaigning around the country, I was carrying a piece of this community with me the entire time.”

Barack Obama Talks Goals for His Center, Hopes for the Country

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Video of the sprawling Obama Presidential Center in Chicago gave a sneak peek at what the venue will look like, which includes everything from a full-size basketball court, a branch of the Chicago Public Library, acres of green space and a full museum highlighting Barack Obama’s years in the White House.

“It is a living, breathing legacy, because our hope is that people bring change back to their communities,” Obama Foundation CEO Valerie Jarrett said in an interview with NBC News.

The campus, located at 6001 S. Stony Island Ave. on the South Side, officially opens to the public on Juneteenth, more than a decade after the former president chose his hometown of Chicago for the project. But tens of thousands of people — friends and family of museum staff, students and journalists — have already been offered a sneak peek at the nearly 20-acre campus as crews finish final art installations and landscaping.

Read the full story here.

While tickets are sold out this weekend for the opening of the Obama Presidential Center's museum, the rest of the campus will be full of activities for attendees.

There will be various performances on the plaza each day, art-related workshops, gatherings at a fruit and vegetable garden and sports clinics with major Chicago teams including the Bulls, Bears and Cubs.

The center will also host an event for the Fourth of July from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. for "a day of music and community as we celebrate 250 years of American progress and get inspired for what’s next."

Later in July, the Chicago Philharmonic will bring Side by Side, its flagship community program, to the outdoor plaza, which is named after the late civil rights icon Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga.

A slew of major artists are slated to perform today at the grand opening of the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago.

The performers include Bruce Springsteen, Stevie Wonder, the Roots, Christina Aguilera, Common, Jennifer Hudson, John Legend, U2's Bono and the Edge, and Marc Anthony, Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder and others.

Speeches are expected by both former first lady Michelle Obama, former President Barack Obama, close personal friend Marty Nesbitt and longtime adviser and CEO of the Obama Foundation Valerie Jarrett. Several of the performers will also give brief remarks.

The in-person crowd at the opening ceremony is invitation only, but the center will livestream the program on its website at Obama.org. 

The program kicks off at noon ET and will feature a star-studded musical lineup, special guests and remarks by the Obamas and others. 

The opening ceremony for the Obama Presidential Center will feature speeches from Obama and the former first lady along with several musical performances.

The invitation-only audience is also expected to include the three other former presidents and first ladies.

The program kicks off at noon ET. People can begin visiting the center on June 19. 

The campus is more than 19 acres and includes a museum, a public library, a basketball court and lots of green space. The grounds will also have a fruit and vegetable garden named after former first lady Eleanor Roosevelt as well as a playground and auditorium.

The museum includes digital exhibits on Obama’s 2008 campaign and key moments during his presidency, a full-size Oval Office replica and a room that provides panoramic views of the south and west sides of Chicago, the center’s website says.

The center will also offer a variety of programs, including civics and democracy education programs for kids, talks at the center's forum and performances, according to the website.