Former U.S. first lady Michelle Obama visited Vancouver for two speaking engagements at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre aimed at inspiring young women and future leaders.
“She’s so inspiring, she makes we want to be a better woman, a better person in the world,” said 17-year-old Jodi Dekker from Surrey.
“She’s the anti-Trump…the epitomy of ‘we go high,’” added North Vancouver resident Maureen Palmer.
Just before noon, more than 2,000 ticket-holders for the event, hosted by the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade, queued in a line wrapping around the building.
This is the crowd of thousands waiting to hear @MichelleObama speak in Vancouver. "She's an Inspiration" and "Please run in 2020!" seem to be the crowd favourites. Line wrapped around the building. Some folks paid $600+ @CTVVancouver pic.twitter.com/hBF5Ao8C8K
— David Molko (@molkoreports) February 15, 2018
Tickets to see the former first lady sold from anywhere from $200 up to a whopping $600. And because the original evening event sold out in a members-only presale in January, organizers added a second afternoon event to try to meet the high demand.
More than 350 young people, mostly students, were selected to attend for free by credit union Vancity and B.C.’s Ministry of Education.
And their excitement was contagious.
“Our school completely arranged this for us,” said 16-year-old Umamah Mokarram from Burnaby. “We were told…’you’re going see Michelle Obama’ and we were like, ‘What?’”
“I’m inspired by her actions and what she does,” said Priya from Vancouver. “I just want to be in the same room as her.”
“She really knows what she’s doing. She can really make people feel empowered and good,” added North Vancouver’s Kathy Daley.
And Kate Abato from Democrats Abroad saw Obama’s visit as an opportunity to get American expats registered in time for November’s mid-term elections.
“She’s a far cry from what the politics are right now in the White House,” Abato exclaimed.
“Can you please run for the president of the United States in 2020?” asked Sylvia from Vancouver.
Others, like 16-year-old Shereya Bajarcharya of Burnaby, took a more introspective tone.
“What allowed her to have the courage to speak out and help people?” she wondered.
And Priya wanted to know “what she thinks when she’s feeling really low—how she gets out of those moments.”
Media weren’t allowed in the theatre, but CTV’s cameras caught a quick glimpse of the former first lady stepping out of her motorcade just after 1 p.m.
Sylvia from Vancouver added: “I support everything she has stood for, and I really think she should continue to spread her message.”
