The opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics defies the weather with a river Seine boat spectacular and a performance by Lady Gaga

On Friday, despite the rain, participants sailed down the River Seine in Paris for an unforgettable opening ceremony.Zinedine Zidane appeared in a video to signal the arrival of the Olympic torch, which was preceded by flares fired from the Austerlitz Bridge to form a tricoloure.

A total of 85 boats then carried the team delegations on a six-kilometer cruise through Paris's center, with more than 300,000 people lined the riverbanks.

As the boats were meandering their way through the city, there was a pause from the team introductions for Lady Gaga to emerge from behind an arrangement of pink feathers.

British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer was among those watching from the main stadium in the Jardins du Trocadero, dressed in a Team GB rain jacket, while others wore ponchos.

Ariana Grande, Serena Williams, and John Legend were among the other well-known names in the stadium, in addition to IOC President Thomas Bach and French President Emmanuel Macron.

Eurostar arson attacks-

Hours before the inauguration ceremony, arson attacks disrupted travel to Paris on Eurostar and other French high-speed train networks.

One in every four Eurostar trains was cancelled on Friday and will be again over the weekend due to "coordinated" vandalism that created inconvenience ahead of the Olympics in France.