Barack Obama has revealed that he developed a crush on a flight attendant while travelling as a child.

The former US president made the revelation on the first night of his speaking tour in Australia this week.

During An Evening with President Obama in Sydney on Tuesday, the 44th president explained that he had become infatuated with a Qantas crew member as a young boy.

Sharing his anecdote with the audience of 9,000 people, Mr Obama said: “I was travelling from Indonesia where my mother was living at the time, to my grandparents in Hawaii and I was travelling unaccompanied.”

Explaining that he was only eight when he made the journey on his own, Mr Obama added: “We had to stop for a day for the connecting flight and a Qantas stewardess took very good care of me.”

Mr Obama told the audience that the crew member who had been tasked with looking after him won his affections by providing Coca-Cola and comic books throughout the journey.

“I had a big crush on her,” he admitted.

“I felt very sophisticated, very worldly, travelling on my own and so that’s my first association with Sydney,” Mr Obama said, adding that he still has a soft spot for Australian travel as a result.

“And it just keeps getting better every time I come back,” he finished.

The event was delayed by 20 minutes due to the sheer volume of people queuing to access Sydney’s International Convention Centre to attend Mr Obama’s speaking tour.

When he finally arrived onstage accompanied by a Stevie Wonder track, the crowd gave Mr Obama a standing ovation.

The event was hosted by former Australian foreign affairs minister Julie Bishop, and the pair discussed political issues and stories from Mr Obama’s time spent in the Whitehouse.

Mr Obama arrived in Melbourne yesterday for the second night of his sold-out tour.

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