President Obama during his final press conference on December 16. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
President Barack Obama announced the details of his farewell address, the last major speech he will deliver as Commander in Chief. The speech will be delivered in the president’s hometown of Chicago on January 10, 10 days before Donald Trump’s inauguration on January 20.
“I’m just beginning to write my remarks,” Obama said in a statement released by the White House on January 2. “But I’m thinking about them as a chance to say thank you for this amazing journey, to celebrate the ways you’ve changed this country for the better these past eight years, and to offer some thoughts on where we all go from here.”
The speech will be delivered at McCormick Place in Chicago. That’s the same venue where First Lady Michelle Obama took part in a “Let’s Move! Active Schools” event in 2013 with students. Tickets for the farewell address will be available to the public for free at the venue on Saturday, January 7. The speech will also be streamed live at WhiteHouse.gov/Farewell and at the White House Facebook page.
In his announcement, Obama referenced the traditions of presidents delivering farewell addresses during the last days of their administration. It goes back to George Washington’s 1796 famous Farewell Address, and is an important step in assuring the peaceful transition of power from one administration to the next.
Although Obama was born in Hawaii, he began his political career in Chicago. He was elected to the Illinois Senate in 1997 and represented Illinois in the U.S. Senate from 2005 to 2008.
Here’s the full details for the speech:
LOCATION: McCormick Place in Chicago (Click here for directions to the venue.)
HOW TO GET TICKETS: Tickets will be distributed at McCormick Place on Saturday, January 7. Tickets are free and available to the public. They are limited to one-per-person.
WHEN TO ARRIVE: Doors open at 5:00 p.m. CST, so anyone with a ticket is advised to arrive much earlier.
HOW TO LIVE STREAM: Live streams of the address will be available at WhiteHouse.gov/Farewell and Facebook.com/WhiteHouse.
