Earlier in the year when it was announced that former US First Lady Michelle Obama would be publishing her memoir, Becoming, we were curious about what secrets would be revealed. Helping us to reveal all will be novelist Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie when she interviews Mrs Obama this December at Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall.
Organised by Penguin Live and Southbank Centre, the visit by Mrs Obama will be her only public appearance in the UK to promote her book. Taking place on Monday 3 December 2018, it falls in the midst of a 10-city tour in the US that kicks off in Chicago on the book’s global publication date, 13 November, and finishes on 19 December in Brooklyn, New York.
During the evening, Mrs Obama will reflect on her memoir and chronicle the experiences that have shaped her – from her childhood on the South Side of Chicago to her years as an executive, balancing the demands of motherhood and work, to her time spent at the world’s most famous address. Obama will recount her journey including her triumphs and her disappointments “with unerring honesty”, according to Penguin Random House UK. She will also share “life lessons learned” and “inspire people to become the very best version of themselves”, the publisher said.
The fact that Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, one of our favourite authors, will be interviewing Mrs Obama adds another layer of magic to an already unmissable even
In acknowledgment of Mrs Obama’s work with and in support of young people, 300 free tickets will be offered to secondary school pupils from across London and the UK and to some local charities.
Tickets for ‘Becoming: An Evening with Michelle Obama’ will go on sale to Southbank Centre Members at 10am on Wednesday 7 November and a further allocation will go on sale to the general public at 10am on Thursday 8 November. There are four bands of ticket prices – £125, £90, £65 and £30; each ticket will include a hardback copy of Becoming (RRP £25), supplied by Waterstones.
Even with the 2,700 capacity of the Royal Festival Hall auditorium, we predict that tickets will run out in no time at all!
