FORMER first lady Michelle Obama is coming to Edinburgh in a little under eight weeks to speak at a charity dinner organised by the Hunter Foundation.
The Edinburgh International Conference Centre (EICC) is the venue for the event which follows her husband’s highly successful visit to Scotland last year.
A statement from the Hunter Foundation said that Obama will participate in “a moderated conversation at a dinner in Edinburgh on July 17 at the EICC with philanthropy and business leaders. Obama is a lawyer, writer, and was the first African-American first lady of the United States”.
It continued: “Hosted by the philanthropist Hunter Foundation, all profits from the event will be invested in hundreds of charities across Scotland.”
About 1200 people attended the dinner when President Barack Obama made his first trip to Scotland a year ago tomorrow.
Unlike her husband, the former First Lady is not thought to be heading to a golf course when she is here – the former president played a round over the Old Course at St Andrews.
His visit took place just days after the Manchester Arena bombing and with tightened security, many hundreds of people were disappointed when he was unable to do a walkabout due to police advice.
Michelle Obama will be the latest American celebrity to visit Scotland at the invitation of the Hunter Foundation, which has previously hosted politicians and actors including Bill Clinton, Leonardo DiCaprio and George Clooney.
No doubt there will be speculation on what gift Obama will be given – her husband was presented with a kilt to mark his visit but there is no evidence he has actually worn it yet. He said at the time: “Unfortunately, I have concluded my legs are too thin to pull it off, but those tartan trousers I have seen you wear. I think they look pretty good. So I might try some.”
During her time as first lady, Obama became noted for her charitable works and her championing of women’s rights.
It is not yet known what format the event on July 17 will take, or if either of her daughters Malia and Sasha will accompany her, but when President Obama attended, the comedian Kevin Bridges, singer Annie Lennox and the rock band Texas provided entertainment.
Young people also played their part, with Mila Stricevic, 13, from Glasgow, reading a poem after winning a schools competition.
Entrepreneur and millionaire Sir Tom Hunter, founder of The Hunter Foundation, said: “From a brick bungalow on the south side of Chicago to the White House has been an epic, historic journey and we look forward to hearing about that journey and Mrs Obama’s future path.
“It is more than an honour to welcome First Lady Michelle Obama, following so closely on from the 44th President’s visit of last year and we are delighted she accepted our invitation.”
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here