Michelle Obama is coming to Vancouver.
And once the tickets for her February 15 presentation go on sale, it probably won’t take long for every seat at the Vancouver Playhouse to be filled.
“We are exceptionally excited to host a conversation with Michelle Obama, former First Lady of the United States and one of the most inspirational public figures of our time,” said Iain Black, President and CEO of the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade, which is hosting the event.
The former U.S. First Lady is “a luminary,” said Anne Giardini, the board of trade’s chair and Chancellor of Simon Fraser University. “She is a role model for millions of women and an inspiring speaker.”
Asked on CBC Radio One if her husband, Barack Obama, would also be in Vancouver, Black said he didn't know if the former president would also be in attendance.
"They wouldn't tell us that," Black said. "I suspect he'll be off doing his own thing that night, but you never know."
A Harvard-trained lawyer, Michelle Obama started her career at the Chicago law firm where she met her future husband. She later worked in the Chicago mayor's office, the University of Chicago, and the University of Chicago Medical Center.
As First Lady for eight years, Obama launched and led four key initiatives: Let's Move!, to address the challenge of childhood obesity; Joining Forces, to support veterans, service members and their families; Reach Higher, to inspire young people to seek higher education; and Let Girls Learn, to help adolescent girls around the world go to school.
The event is at the same venue where GVBOT hosted former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in March 2014 for a sold-out audience of 2,781.
Advance tickets, exclusively for board of trade members, will be available for purchase between Jan. 10 and 17. Tickets will go on sale to the general public on Jan. 18. More details are available at boardoftrade.com.
With files from Business in Vancouver.
