Jubilation has turned into an outright victory celebration at a large gathering of US Democrat supporters in central Sydney.
For more than 200 Barack Obama fans who assembled at a Sydney hotel, many of them US or dual citizens, the moment of victory came just on 3pm (AEDT).
They had been watching live coverage of the US presidential election count for several hours, and the close of the polls in America's western states delivered Obama the electoral college votes needed to win the presidential race.
The crowd erupted, with the earlier chant of "yes we can" swiftly becoming "yes we did".
Greg Carr, 66, of Oklahoma said he was in shock.
"It's elation, absolute elation," he said.
"We have elected a black man as the president of the United States.
"If you had asked me that 10 years ago, I'd have said `not in my life time', but now it's time."
The gathering was held by Democrats Abroad Australia at the Slide Lounge in Oxford Street, central Sydney.