Paris Olympics opening ceremony LIVE!
Paris welcomed the Olympic Games with an opening ceremony like no other as athletes sailed down the River Seine despite the rain on Friday.
Zinedine Zidane starred in a video to tee up the arrival of the Olympic flame before flares set off from the Austerlitz Bridge formed a tricolore. A total of 85 boats then carried 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.
As the boats were winding their way through the city, there was a break from the team introductions for Lady Gaga to burst forth from behind an array of pink feathers and perform alongside the river, close to Notre Dame cathedral, singing entirely in French. The threatened rain arrived as the Olympic flame was transferred to the river bank to make its way through the crowds.
