WATCH: Barack & Michelle Obama, Merkel, Bill Clinton, Justin Trudeau At Obama Presidential Centre

Throngs of guests were due to converge on a lakefront park in Chicago on Thursday to dedicate the Obama Presidential Center, a sprawling campus of granite, nature and art ​designed as a hub of civic life and culture honoring the 44th president of the United States. Former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle ‌Obama were expected to preside over the ceremonial opening of the center, an $850 million development that local historians say marks the greatest single investment in a century in the city's long-neglected South Side. Money for the center, which opens to the public on Friday — the Juneteenth holiday celebrating the abolition of slavery in the U.S. — was raised privately through the former first couple's Chicago-based nonprofit Obama Foundation. Among the A-list recording artists ​slated to perform at Thursday's grand opening were Stevie Wonder, Bruce Springsteen, Jennifer Hudson, John Legend, Common, Christina Aguilera, Eddie Vedder, Bono and the Roots. Apart from dignitaries, ​music stars and other invited guests attending the dedication itself, a crowd of ticketed guests will watch the ceremony on a big ⁠screen from another park near the center. The proceedings will also be carried on a global livestream. The Obama Center, occupying 19.3 acres of historic Jackson Park on the banks of ​Lake Michigan, is an ambitious blend of landscaping and architecture encompassing such elements as a playground, gardens, a concert hall and NBA-sized basketball court. The center, much of which celebrates advancements in ​civil rights and Obama's place in history as the first Black politician elected U.S. president, comes as his immediate successor, President Donald Trump, has rolled back civil liberties protections and diversity programs. HOPE THEME CENTRAL TO LEGACY "At a time when there’s so much toxicity in the air, this kind of breathes new hope,” said Valerie Jarrett, the longest-serving senior White House adviser in Obama's administration and the chief executive of the Obama ​Foundation. “You can come here and be inspired and hope again." #BarackObama #MichelleObama #ObamaPresidentialCenter #Chicago #Obama #UnitedStates #Live #CNBCTV18