Paris welcomes Olympic Games with groundbreaking opening ceremony on the Seine
By Ian Parker, PA, Paris
Paris welcomed the Olympic Games with an opening ceremony like no other as athletes sailed down the River Seine to the sound of Lady Gaga and more.
Zinedine Zidane starred in a video to tee up the arrival of the Olympic flame before flares set off from the Pont d’Austerlitz Bridge formed a tricolore.
A total of 85 boats then began carrying the team delegations on a six-kilometre journey through the centre of Paris, with more than 300,000 spectators lining the banks of the river.
The weather did not play ball as the ceremony was hit by steady rain, but there was still a carnival atmosphere as an array of performances sought to convey the story of Paris and of France.
Lady Gaga was the first to steal the show, bursting forth from behind a pair of out-sized pink pom-poms to deliver a burlesque take on the French classic ‘Mon truc en plume’.
The performances came in all shapes and sizes, with Gojira adding a dramatic twist of heavy metal.
Taoiseach Simon Harris and British prime minister Keir Starmer were among those watching from the main stadium in the Jardins du Trocadero.
Other famous faces within the stadium – aside from IOC president Thomas Bach and French president Emmanuel Macron included Ariana Grande, Serena Williams and John Legend.
With the rain getting increasingly heavy, one of the big screens in the stadium relaying pictures of the parade to the watching dignitaries failed a little over an hour in.
That came just before Ireland team hit the screens, led by flagbearers Sarah Lavin and Shane Lowry.
The Team Ireland contingent of 26 took centre stage cruising along the River Seine, dressed head to toe in their custom Laura Weber designed suitings.
Also among those representing Ireland on boat number 36 were taekwondo athlete Jack Wooley, boxers Michaela Walsh, Jenny Lehane and Daina Moorhouse, sailors Finn Lynch and Eve McMahon and their coaches, alongside Chef de Mission for the Games Gavin Noble.