Flame soars, rain falls in historic Paris Games opening

Forecasts of a rain-soaked Friday night delivered on cue, the grey skies opening just as 85 boats and almost 7,000 athletes and team staff floated down the River Seine in front of 320,000 spectators.

It was the first time an opening ceremony had been held outside a stadium, as surrounding streets and landmarks were shut down. The usually chaotic Champs-Elysees was completely vacant. 

Zinedine Zidane, Rafael Nadal, Tony Parker, Nadia Comaneci and Carl Lewis were among the greats to shepherd the flame to its destination before current French judoka Teddy Riner and Marie Jose Perec - Cathy Freeman's former rival - both lit the cauldron.

The flame then lifted 30 metres into the Parisian night sky, the hot air balloon a nod to the French invention, as Celine Dion sung Hymne A l'Amour under the Eiffel Tower.

Earlier, canoeist Fox and hockey player Eddie Ockenden carried the flag for Australia just hours before both begin their fourth and fifth Games on Saturday.

Eighty of the 460-strong Australian contingent who chose to participate were completely soaked, Australia the third-last boat in the fleet in a nod to Brisbane's 2032 hosting duties.

Some of Ockenden's Kookaburras teammates, as well as the boxers, beach volleyballers and tennis players were among the Australian athletes on the boat.

They didn't seem to mind the weather - smiling, waving and dancing as they completed their journey almost two hours after Greece were first to go.

LeBron James and Coco Gauff did the same for the United States, while Melina Robert-Michon and Florent Manaudou led a packed French boat to conclude their parade.

Before the skies had truly opened, Lady Gaga wowed with a cabaret number, while a masked torchbearer ran the flame over the Paris rooftops.

Director Thomas Jolly was careful to ensure his work wasn't one giant French cliche, instead keen to tell a history of the country and project a message of peace.

The 6km journey took in 12 sections, moving from enchantment, synchronicity, liberty, equality, fraternity, sisterhood, sportsmanship, festivity, darkness and finally solemnity.

There was a nod to Louis Vuitton, a riverside Moulin Rouge can-can, a fashion runway, rap, French heavy metal, ballet, a jet flyover and a beheaded Marie Antionette. 

The Olympic flag was delivered in style, an armoured figure riding an electronic skeletal horse down the Seine and then a real horse along the Trocadero the foot of the Eiffel Tower, where it was hoisted.

One hundred years since the city last hosted, the Olympics was finally back in Paris.

OPENING CEREMONY BY THE NUMBERS:

* 6km route from Pont d'Austerlitz to the Trocadero

* 71 giant screens, 1,000 speakers

* 85 boats

* 2,000 artists 

* 6,800 athletes and team staff

* 320,000 spectators in 124 grandstands over 200,000m2 of land

Australian Associated Press