Barack Obama and Michelle Obama will be delivering virtual commencement speeches at YouTube’s upcoming graduation event, Dear Class of 2020.
Set to be held on Tuesday, June 16, the star-studded livestream will feature The Obamas as headliners as they’ll deliver a joint and separate address to this year’s graduating high school and college seniors. With performances by K-pop BTS and others, celebrities like Alicia Keys, Chloe x Halle, Kelly Rowland, Kerry Washington, and Zendaya will also make appearances.
“Graduation is a tradition that students and families look forward to and with the current state of the world, YouTube is lending some inspiration in the form of a virtual commencement,” said YouTube’s global head of content, Susanne Daniels. “We hope bringing together noteworthy, influential speakers along with performances from some of their favorite artists will provide encouragement for the students who have worked so hard to get here.”
The former First Lady’s Higher Reach Initiative will also host an hour-long virtual event to kick off the graduation celebration. On Saturday (May 16), the former president will deliver another commencement speech during the hour-long televised event, Graduate Together: America Honors the High School Class of 2020, hosted by XQ Institute, The LeBron James Family Foundation, and The Entertainment Industry Foundation. He’ll be joined by several high school students who are part of the Obama Foundation’s work to inspire, empower, and connect people to change their world, including seniors from Chicago Public Schools and members of the Obama Youth Jobs Corps.
The full commencement event schedule will be made available beginning on Sunday, May 17 on the Learn@Home site. Dear Class of 2020 will stream on the YouTube Originals channel.
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