A ceremony that can be described as historic, as it was the first in the history of the Olympic Games to be held outside the Olympic site and to take place on the emblematic Seine River, and also because the event reviewed the broad history of France, from the French Revolution to the invention of cinema and the contribution of women to the history of humanity.

The rain, not from the first moment but appearing little by little, did not prevent the celebration of the event, in which the Olympic parade of the different delegations crossed the Seine bridge by bridge while they were surprised by different performances of all kinds: young people dancing, references to cabaret, heavy bands mixed with opera, the French-Malian star Aya Nakamura and the global diva Lady Gaga herself.

85 boats and over 7,000 athletes were watched by around 300,000 people on the banks, and another 200,000 from balconies and flats overlooking roads marked with a distinctive pink colour while the production alternated between images of a masked flag-bearer and iconic buildings such as the Louvre and the National Library.

Paris' vision is for the Olympics to be more profitable and less polluting than previous editions, with competitions to be held in historic sites around the capital, all with heavy security and an impressive police and military presence. 

The ceremony was guarded by 45,000 police and paramilitary officers and another 10,000 soldiers and 22,000 private security guards will complete the security operation.

Despite heavy rain and a wave of attacks that paralysed France's high-speed rail network early on Friday, the Games' main organiser Tony Estanguet said before the ceremony began that he was confident of putting on “a great party”.