Opening ceremony of Paris Olympics marred by unexpected downpour

Thousands of specialists worked tirelessly on the first opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in Paris in exactly 100 years. Meanwhile, the decision to host the prestigious event outdoors turned out to be a complete organizational failure. The rainy weather played quite a trick.

115 boats with delegations of athletes, the presence of leaders from nearly a hundred countries, journalists, photo reporters, and a sea of fans – the inauguration of the Summer Olympic Games was marked by great pomp. Spectators could marvel at spectacular visual displays and performances by the biggest stars along the Seine River. The organizers' decision to hold the very costly outdoor ceremony backfired on them.

Despite perfecting every detail, one thing could not be predicted – the erratic weather. Even the morning weather reports did not mention possible rainfall in the French capital. However, in the late afternoon, the Parisian sky became entirely covered with clouds, and the torrential rain impacted not only the quality of the broadcast but also the moods of the world's dignitaries attending the event.

Nearly 320,000 participants in the ceremony experienced the changing weather firsthand. Cameras captured, among others, famous athletes and members of the royal elite in raincoats. There were also technical problems. At one point, the large screen placed at Trocadero Square stopped working in front of which a huge crowd was closely watching the event. The heavy rain drowned out the music, and millions of television viewers could see the raindrops better than the Olympic River parade.

Fortunately, the downpour did not affect the program of the ceremony. It started promptly at 1:30 PM Eastern Time, and just a few minutes later, the audience could applaud the highly anticipated performance by Lady Gaga, who paid a remarkable tribute to the legendary French artist Zizi Jeanmaire. Significant moments of the Olympic Games' opening ceremony also included Zinedine Zidane passing the Olympic torch to three children and a dance referencing the reconstruction of Notre Dame Cathedral.

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