IT’S the erection that has Sydney - and the world - talking.

A giant pink condom towered over workers bustling along Elizabeth St in Sydney’s CBD this morning after being lowered onto the Hyde Park Obelisk overnight.

The 18m love glove was slipped on by ACON, a NSW health promotion organisation specialising in HIV and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex health.

It will to stand tall for a week to help raise awareness among gay men about how they can help end HIV transmission in NSW by 2020.

Hard-hatted crews were reluctant to talk to The Daily Telegraph as they mounted the giant sheath but, as Sydney woke to its morning glory, people took to social media to have a chuckle.

#GiantCondom this is fantastic! Well done http://t.co/1FYNRwKmnX. And Sydney Water for allowing this to happen. pic.twitter.com/RSvxxrKMlP — Jackson Long (@jax1000) November 7, 2014

So, I’m off to see the #GiantCondom in Sydney. Because, if there’s one thing as titillating as an inflatable butt plug, it’s a pink condom! — Senthorun Raj (@senthorun) November 6, 2014

Now THIS got our attention- http://t.co/iaHRkJmcBL Always use protection... even if you're a monument pic.twitter.com/6zRlpQ7UG6 — 2DayFM Breakfast (@2dayFMbreakfast) November 6, 2014

I wonder what flavour the Hyde Park #giantcondom is... — Kemal Atlay (@kemal_atlay) November 7, 2014

One passer-by was taken by surprise this morning.

“Oh my god — that is crazy. It’s the first time I’ve ever noticed it,” one open-mouthed man said on his way home from work.

“At least it adds a bit of colour.”

But not everyone has found the condom amusing.

Australian Christian Lobby director and outdoor advertising lobbyist Wendy Francis spoke against the stunt, saying it was “disgusting” and “completely inappropriate”.

“My position on this is always that the government but also the community we have responsibility to our children,” she said.

“Parents do not want to be forced into a situation where they have to explain something that’s not relevant.

“It’s an Obelisk and we’re turning it into a penis.”

It has been a big day for the Hyde Park Obelisk. Erected in 1857, it has endured generations of anonymity thanks to its role as a glorified sewerage vent.

The condom it now wears reads: “Test more + treat early + stay safe = ending HIV.”

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