Incessant rain put a dampener on the history-making opening ceremony for the Olympic Games.
The best part of four hours sat under an umbrella – and still getting wet – took the edge off the spectacular event in Paris which is hosting the Olympics for a record-equalling third time.
This was the first time the opening ceremony had not taken in a stadium but along the banks of the River Seine, the artery which dissects the French capital.
It was a unique concept and was brilliantly devised as more than 6,500 athletes sailed past the city’s iconic sights on a flotilla of 85 boats.
Around 3,000 dancers, musicians – including Lady Gaga and Celine Dion – and actors transformed the banks of the Seine and its bridges into a majestic stage over the six-kilometre route which started at the Pont d’Austerlitz, next to the Jardin des Plantes, and proceeded to the Eiffel Tower where the main events took place on a stage erected to replicate its silhouette.
Giant screens showed the cavalcade journeying down the Seine in a stunning spectacle.
Usually, the events at the opening ceremony – this was my eighth – unfold in front of your eyes in the stadium.
This time they were witnessed at a distance, and we had to watch similar to those at home – at least they were dry! It did take the gloss off the sense of occasion for those of use lucky enough to be at the opening ceremony.
When the boats docked at the Eiffel Tower, athletes proceeded over the bridge to the main stage at Trocadéro for the official protocols.
However, many jumped ship and returned to the Olympic Village to dry off, and only a relatively small number of bedraggled remainers stayed for the finale.
But with the lighting of the Olympic flame taking place downstream near the Louvre museum – Zinedine Zidane and Rafael Nadal were among the torch bearers – that took a further gloss of it for us situated near the main stage.
But there was a never-to-be-forgotten finale, an amazing laser show with the Eiffel Tower providing the amazing backdrop.
It was awe inspiring and Nik Simon, from the Mail on Sunday, described it as the most spectacular thing he had ever witnessed.
The fact the French pulled off an ambitious opening ceremony along such a vast expanse was truly remarkable as they overcame unprecedented logistical and security challenges.
A ring of steel was put in place with roads cordoned off – it has been a nightmare trying to navigate the city in the days leading up to the opening ceremony.
Metro stations were shut within a two-kilometre radius of the opening ceremony’s main stage at Trocadero and trying to negotiate a route back to my hotel in the east of the city was problematic. Where were the volunteers when needed to guide strangers back to where they were heading?
Other Metro stations remained shut so it was a circuitous route to Porte de Lilas, eventually getting back shortly before 1am.
An army of armed police has probably made Paris one of the safest places on the planet – there were 45,000 which were supplemented by 10,000 military personnel and a further 20,000 private security guards.
However, it was shambolic getting into the event which was done with just the most cursory of bag searches by police who were overwhelmed by the sheer numbers which caused chaotic scenes at the entry point.
That was followed inside by a further bag scan on airport style security machinery. We has been informed we would have to produce an e-ticket and our passports along with our accreditation, but that was not requested.