Lady Gaga sang a French cabaret song near Notre-Dame cathedral, athletes were cheered by the crowd along the Seine in the pouring rain and dancers took to the roofs of Paris in the Olympics' opening ceremony on Friday.
A fleet of barges took the competitors on a 6km-stretch of the river alongside some of the French capital's most famous landmarks, as performers recreated some of the sports to be showcased in the Games on floating platforms.
It is the first time that an opening ceremony has taken place outside a stadium, adding to the headaches for a vast security operation, just hours after a sabotage attack on the high-speed TGV rail network caused travel chaos across France.
A giant plume of blue, white and red smoke, resembling the French flag, was sent high above a bridge over the Seine and a winged man played accordion, as part of a show that included many postcard-like depictions of France, including a huge cancan line performed by Moulin Rouge dancers on the banks.
A more modern image of the country was on display when French-Malian pop star Aya Nakamura, the most-listened-to French female singer in the world, sang some of her biggest hits, accompanied by the French Republican Guard's army choir.
