Lady Gaga sang a French cabaret song near Notre-Dame cathedral, a giant plume of blue, white and red smoke was sent high above a bridge over the Seine and a winged man played accordion as the Olympics' opening ceremony got under way in Paris on Friday.
A fleet of barges took athletes on a 6km-stretch of the river, alongside some of the French capital's most famous landmarks, as Lady Gaga, surrounded by dancers, sang Mon truc en plumes (My thing made of feathers).
Huge applause rang out for the Greek boat the first one, by tradition and even bigger cheers erupted for the boat that followed, carrying the refugees' team.
Fountains threw up jets of water in the middle of the Seine as the boats went by, with athletes waving at the crowds, amid a huge visible police presence.
The ceremony comes just hours after a sabotage attack on the high-speed TGV rail network caused travel chaos across France and put the spotlight on the security risks at a time when the eyes of the world are on the country.
