Barack Obama has revealed he once had a crush on a Qantas flight attendant – kicking off his lucrative tour of Australia on Tuesday night.
The former US president sat with former Secretary of State Julie Bishop in Sydney, and people paid hundreds to hear him discuss leadership and other issues, including China.
A sold-out audience was kept waiting over 20 minutes for the event to start, after it was postponed because “huge” queues were still trying to get to the ICC at 7.45pm.
Despite the delay, Obama still received a standing ovation from the crowd after he took to the stage to the tune of Stevie Wonder.
The applause was in stark contrast to Tuesday, when Sydneysiders slammed the former president for the massive motorcade he and his wife, Michelle, carried through the city.
Obama opened his speech by praising Sydney and describing his love for the city.
“Sydney is amazing, we had a great time here, it’s one of the greatest cities in the world.”
Speaking of his first visit when he was eight years old, he added, “I was traveling from Indonesia where my mother was living at the time, to my grandparents in Hawaii and I was traveling unaccompanied,” he said, describing his first trip. .
“We had to stop for a day for the connecting flight, and the Qantas flight attendant took really good care of me.”
‘I had a huge crush on her,’ he said.
Former US President Barack Obama was seen enjoying a coffee in the late afternoon on Tuesday
Former US President Barack Obama is currently in Australia on a speaking tour, hosted by former Secretary of State Julie Bishop (centre). Portrait of the 66-year-old at the Four Seasons Hotel Sydney in a cream Carla Zamppatti suit total value of $1,848
I felt very sophisticated, very worldly, traveling on my own and this being my first association with Sydney.
“And it keeps getting better every time I come back.”
Ms. Bishop hosted the event and the 66-year-old spared no expense, showing up in a cream Carla Zamppatti bodysuit valued at a total of $1,848.
In addition to the sold-out crowd, about 500 people tuned in to chat online, with tickets to purchase and a link to the sold-out broadcast for about $400.
It’s the first leg of a whistle-blowing tour that will also see the former president speak in Melbourne on Wednesday.
The event offers Australians – willing to spend between $195 and $895 – a first-hand account from the politician on his ‘road to success’.
Yvonne Weldon, a Wiraguri woman, gave a country welcome, before Obama and Mrs. Bishop took to the stage to standing ovations.
Questioned by Ms Bishop on the rise of China, the former president commended President Xi Jinping for his “strong and confident” demeanor.
China began to change ‘after I left office’, Obama said, as the country began to clamp down on freedoms within its borders after President Xi felt the next US leader – Donald Trump – would be more lenient.
“With the advent of my successor, I think he saw an opportunity because the American president didn’t seem to care much about a rules-based international order,” Obama said.
And as a result, I think China’s position as well, we can take advantage of what appears to be a vacuum internationally on a lot of these issues.
Former First Lady Michelle Obama leaves the Four Seasons Hotel in Sydney. She was later seen enjoying a yacht trip in the north of the city
He said the relationship between the United States and China is “incredibly tense” and that tensions “are not going away any time soon.”
“And they shouldn’t, because I think there are some fundamental differences in terms of how we operate when you look at the South China Sea,” he told the crowd.
The fact of the matter is if China starts claiming what used to be international waters, it’s going to make life difficult for its neighbors, and for everyone else, in the long run, I don’t even think it’s going to be good for China.’
Obama and his wife, Michelle, arrived in Australia on Sunday night before his tour, and have since visited several locations, including the Opera House and Balmoral Beach.
The former president was seen enjoying afternoon coffee on Tuesday, while Michelle went to Mossman Bay in a yacht, which cruised around the harbor for about an hour.
However, the pair are fired upon by locals who bomb the “disturbing” motorcade carrying them through town.
Some asked for information about who is paying for the caravan of black SUVs, while others wondered why Obama had such a large security presence for an ex-president.
Barack Obama waves to onlookers as he leaves his five-star hotel in Sydney on Tuesday
Obama and his wife, Michelle, arrived in Australia on Sunday night ahead of his tour
However, the lucrative nature of the event saw him come under some criticism from some Sydneysiders unhappy with his motorcade.
On social media, one critic asked: “Barack Obama is running across the country in a motorcade of 20 cars.
Why does the NSW taxpayer charge for their details? For goodness sake, he’ll be earning a million dollars or more on his speaking tour, so he’ll have to pay for it.
Another wrote: “One can only hope that Barack Obama and his wife Michael waved to the homeless as he passed by in his taxpayer-funded motorcade.”
While a third said: I flew on a private plane. So many gas consumers and our police force use it because it’s “very important”.
“He lectures us about climate change.”
Barack Obama snapped a cute photo as he greeted fans before his win-win speech event on Tuesday night
Former US President Barack Obama (center) waves to onlookers after leaving the Bathers’ Suite in Balmoral on Monday
Obama was greeted by crowds of fans on Tuesday morning as he checked out of the Four Seasons Hotel.
The security presence around the former president was massive on Tuesday, with crowds of police officers lining the streets outside the Four Seasons Hotel.
President Obama’s last official visit to Australia was for the G-20 summit in Brisbane in November 2014 — and before going down a private jet with Michelle on Sunday, he hadn’t been seen in public with his wife since last year.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese hosted Obama at the Kiribelli home on Monday morning.
The presidential couple were all smiles as they posed together for the camera, capturing the view by the harbor while holding black umbrellas amidst a light drizzle.
“Honored to welcome President @barackobama to Sydney,” Albanese captioned the post on Twitter, which has since been viewed more than a million times.
President Obama’s last official visit to Australia was for the G-20 summit in Brisbane in November 2014 — and before going down a private jet with Michelle on Sunday, he hadn’t been seen in public with his wife since last year.
