Barack Obama and Michelle Obama climb Sydney Harbour Bridge without safety harnesses

Former US president Barack Obama and his wife Michelle have been given special permission to climb Sydney Harbour Bridge without safety harnesses.

The casually-dressed couple scaled the world-famous landmark on Wednesday as they prepared to leave Sydney to continue Mr Obama’s speaking tour in Melbourne.

The Obamas and their entourage were allowed to walk over the ‘Coathanger’ without having to wear the jumpsuits and safety apparatus usually required by operator BridgeClimb.

Daily Mail Australia understands the bridge visit, which included Secret Service agents, was coordinated by Transport for NSW after the authority was approached by the Obamas’ security team.

‘Today’s visit followed standard safety protocols that are in place for visiting dignitaries, and are regularly implemented,’ a Transport for NSW spokeswoman said.

Former United States president Barack Obama and his wife Michelle have been given special permission to climb Sydney Harbour Bridge without safety harnesses

The casually-dressed couple scaled the world-famous landmark on Wednesday as they prepared to leave Sydney to continue Mr Obama’s speaking tour in Melbourne

The Obamas and their entourage were allowed to walk over the ‘Coathanger’ without having to wear the usual jumpsuits and safety apparatus required by operator BridgeClimb

The Obamas arrived about 10am before ascending 1,332 steps along the arch and standing 134m above the water with 360 degree views of the harbour.

After completing the walk, Mr Obama was seen accepting a souvenir BridgeClimb cap and talking to workers clad in high-visibility clothing.

Other world figures to have climbed the bridge include Prince Harry and Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary of Denmark.

Oprah Winfrey, Will Smith, Matt Damon, Nicole Kidman, Kylie Minogue, Justin Timberlake, Cameron Diaz, Robert De Niro and Pierce Brosnan have all reached the summit.

On Tuesday night Mr Obama gave a broad-ranging address to a sold-out crowd inside the International Convention Centre at Darling Harbour.

The 61-year-old received a standing ovation from the 9,000-strong audience who heard him reveal reveal he once had a ‘crush’ on a Qantas flight attendant.

After completing the walk, Mr Obama was seen accepting a BridgeClimb cap and talking to workers clad in high-visibility clothing

A smiling Michelle Obama is pictured after climbing the Sydney Harbour Bridge on Wednesday

The Obamas ascended 1,332 stairs along the arch and stood 134m above the water with 360 degree views of the spectacular harbour. The Obama entourage is pictured

As well as the sell-out crowd, around 500 people tuned into the talk online, with tickets to buy a link to the stream selling for around $400.

Those who wished to hear Obama speak had to dig deep into their pockets for a ticket, with a standard entry coming in at just under $200.

The event’s ‘platinum package’, which cost $895, featured a welcome cocktail at a one-hour drinks function, commemorative lanyard and signed copy of Mr Obama’s memoir A Promised Land.

With a further 10,500 to see Mr Obama talk at a Melbourne event on Wednesday night, he could be up for a payday upwards of $1million.

Mr Obama opened his first talk by hailing Sydney and describing his love for the city.

‘Sydney is fantastic, we have had such a wonderful time here, it’s one of the world’s great cities,’ he told the audience.

BridgeClimb has welcomed more than 4million visitors from 140 different countries since it began operation in October 1998

Discussing his first time visiting the city an eight-year-old, he said: ‘I was travelling from Indonesia where my mother was living at the time, to my grandparents in Hawaii and I was travelling unaccompanied.’

‘We had to stop for a day for the connecting flight and Qantas stewardess took very good care of me. I had a big crush on her.

‘I felt very sophisticated, very worldly, travelling on my own and so that’s my first association with Sydney.

‘And it just keeps getting better every time I come back.’

The rapturous reception Mr Obama received on Tuesday night followed complaints earlier in the day from Sydney residents who objected to his huge ‘nuisance’ motorcade.

BridgeClimb has hosted more than 5,000 proposals and 30 weddings. Mr and Mrs Obama are pictured carefully coming down from the summit

Other world figures to have climbed the bridge include Prince Harry and Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary of Denmark. The Obamas are pictured coming down

The Obamas touched down in Australia on Sunday night and visited local landmarks including the Opera House and Balmoral Beach.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese hosted Mr Obama at his Sydney residence Kirribilli House on Monday morning.

The two leaders were all smiles as they posed together, taking in the view by the harbour while holding black umbrellas amidst a light drizzle.

‘Honoured to welcome President @barackobama to Sydney,’ Mr Albanese captioned the post to Twitter, which has since been viewed more than one million times.

Mr Obama was spotted enjoying an afternoon coffee on Tuesday, while his wife took to Mosman Bay on a yacht, cruising around the harbour for about an hour.

BridgeClimb has welcomed more than 4million visitors from 140 different countries since it began operation in October 1998

Oprah Winfrey, Will Smith, Matt Damon, Nicole Kidman, Kylie Minogue, Justin Timberlake, Cameron Diaz, Robert De Niro and Pierce Brosnan have all climbed the bridge

The couple has come under fire from residents who blasted the ‘nuisance’ motorcade that transported them through the city.

Some asked for information on who was paying for the convoy of black four-wheel-drives, while others questioned why Mr Obama had such a large security presence.

Taking to social media, one critic asked: ‘Barack Obama is running around the country with a 20 vehicle motorcade.

‘Why is the NSW taxpayer bearing the cost of his detail? For goodness sake, he’s going to make $1 million or more on his speaking tour, so HE should pay for it.’

The Obamas arrived for the climb just after 10am on Wednesday with a small entourage. Mr Obama is pictured after the climb

Another wrote: ‘One can only hope Barrack Obama and wife Michael waved to the homeless as he swept past in his taxpayer funded motorcade.’

While a third said: ‘Flew in on a private jet. Uses this many gas guzzlers & our police force because he’s ‘oh so important’.

‘Lectures us on climate change.’

Mr Obama’s last official visit to Australia was for the G20 Summit in Brisbane in November 2014.

BridgeClimb has welcomed more than 4million visitors from 140 different countries since it began operation in October 1998. It has hosted more than 5,000 proposals and 30 weddings.

Barack Obama takes shot at Rupert Murdoch and Sky News in speech

By Eliza McPhee for Daily Mail Australia

Barack Obama has fired a shot at Rupert Murdoch and his News Corp media empire, accusing the Australian billionaire of helping ‘polarise’ western societies via his networks’ news coverage.

The former US President criticised the billionaire while speaking with former Australian foreign affairs minister Julie Bishop at Sydney’s Aware Super Theatre on Tuesday night.

Mr Obama was discussing the polarisation of Americans and said a major factor was ‘shifts in the media’ and how stories were told to viewers – before directly naming Fox News.

‘And there’s a guy you may be familiar with, first name Rupert, who was responsible for a lot of this,’ he said.

‘But really he perfected what is a broader trend, which is the advent of cable [television], talk radio and then social media.

‘The dissolution of the monopoly of a few arbiters of the news and journalistic standards that came out of the post-world war two era.’

Mr Obama said there was now a ‘wild west’ of media that was making people feel ‘angry and resentful’.

‘And if all you’re doing is, in America it’s Fox News, here I guess it’s Sky, whatever it is.

‘If all you’re doing is watching one source of news, and by the way, in America, you’re seeing that progressives say, ”well we’re going to have our own news and our own perspective”,’ he continued.

‘You no longer have a joint conversation and a shared story. And the economics of the media, the clicks, are now based on how do I attract your attention?

‘Well, the easiest way to attract attention without having to have a lot of imagination, thought, or interesting things to say, is just to make people angry and resentful and to make them feel as if somebody’s trying to mess with them and take what’s rightfully theirs.

‘And if you throw in some good old-fashioned racism and xenophobia and sexism and homophobia, all of that, because now we’re in the realm of identity politics. And it’s very difficult to compromise around identity politics.’

The former president said he feared this would only get worse through the rise of artificial intelligence.

He said that because he was the first president of the digital age, he was at one point the most recorded person in history.

It also meant he was the target of many deepfakes – a form of artificial intelligence that creates images of fake events.

‘Today you can have me in just about any setting on a video, and certainly on a recording, say anything. And unless you’re [my wife] Michelle, you’re pretty confident it’s me,’ Mr Obama said.

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Read more at DailyMail.co.uk