We study the nonnegative part \overline {G_ {> 0}} of the De Concini-Procesi compactification of a semisimple algebraic group \overline {G_ {> 0}} , as defined by Lusztig. Using positivity properties of the canonical basis and parametrization of flag varieties, we will give an explicit description of \overline {G_ {> 0}} . This answers the question of Lusztig in Total positivity and canonical bases, Algebraic groups and Lie groups (ed. GI Lehrer), Cambridge Univ. Press, 1997, pp. 281-295. We will also prove that \overline {G_ {> 0}} has a cell decomposition which was conjectured by Lusztig.