Paris welcomed its first Olympic Games in a century with an opening ceremony like no other as relentless rain failed to put a dampener on proceedings along the iconic River Seine.
Footballing legend Zinedine Zidane starred in a video to tee up the arrival of the Olympic flame and appeared in person later on, handing the torch to tennis royalty Rafael Nadal, a 14-time French Open champion.
Nadal was then joined by fellow tennis great Serena Williams as well as Nadia Comaneci and Carl Lewis as they took the flame down the Seine before it found its way to Marie-Jose Perec and Teddy Riner to light the cauldron.
As they did so, a balloon lifted the flame into the Paris sky and, back at the Eiffel Tower, Celine Dion appeared to give her much-rumoured performance singing Edith Piaf’s ‘L’Hymne a l’amour’.
Footballing royalty Zinedine Zidane passed the Olympic flame on to tennis legend Rafael Nadal in Paris
Lady Gaga was among the performers early on as, for the first time in the Games’ history, the opening ceremony was not confined to a stadium.
British prime minister Sir Keir Starmer was among those watching from the main stadium in the Jardins du Trocadero, wearing a Team GB rain jacket amid the driving rain.
Boats carried the team delegations on a six-kilometre journey through the centre of Paris, with Team GB’s vessel including flagbearers Tom Daley and Helen Glover and soon-to-retire tennis legend Andy Murray.
Andy Murray was on board the British boat on Friday evening ahead of his final Olympic Games
Lady Gaga stole the show, emerging from behind a pair of large pink-feathered pom-poms to deliver a burlesque take on the French classic ‘Mon truc en plume’ an an evening full of stars.
The day had started with major disruption in Paris when the French train network was hit by an arson attack.
Over 10,000 athletes will compete across 32 sports at the Games, with this year’s Olympics to end on August 11.
How to follow the Olympics on Sky
Keep up to date with the action from the Paris 2024 Olympics across Sky Sports’ digital platforms and Sky Sports News every day between now and Sunday August 11.
Alongside live news blogs and updates as records are broken and medals won on skysports.com and the Sky Sports app, Sky Sports News will also have dedicated reporters on the scene in Paris during the Games to gather the latest news both inside and outside the arenas in France as well as reaction to the big moments from medal winners, coaches, relatives and pundits.
Launching this August, Sky Sports+ will be integrated into Sky TV, streaming service NOW and the Sky Sports app – giving Sky Sports customers access to over 50 per cent more live sport this year at no extra cost.
