Trocadero Square where the French President Emmanuel Macron officially declares the Games open. Photo: Olympic Committee

Despite hours of rain, the Paris Olympics executed a four-hour ceremony that dazzled the crowds and the world.

First came a parade on the Seine of 7,000 athletes from countries and territories. The delegations floated along a route nearly six km long, extending from the wharf Austerlitz in southern Paris to the Trocadero at the foot of the Eiffel Tower, where official ceremony was taking place.

Thousands of performers with Lady Gaga, Aya Nakamura, and Gojira band being highlights performed songs and dances, both modern and traditional French, on the stairs, the bridge and on the balconies of iconic buildings of Paris along the Seine River: Conciergerie building, Grand Palace (Grand Palais), the oldest bridge in Paris but named New Bridge (Pont Neuf), Alexandre Bridge, and river bank in front of the Louvre museum.

The action then moved to the Eiffel Tower, which glittered with lasers and strobe effects, and the Trocadero, a green space across the Seine from the Eiffel Tower. At 11pm (local time), French President Emmanuel Macron officially declared the Games open, the 33rd Olympics in the history of modern sports.

Next came the torch relay and torch lighting by French and world athletes: Zinedine Zidane (France), Rafael Nadal (Spain), Serena Williams (USA), and Marie-Jose Perec Teddy Riner (France). The Olympic torch was then lit at Tuilleries Park in Concorde Square and placed on a hot air balloon-shaped cauldron, floating in the Paris sky.

Celine Dion, who hasn't performed in four years due to a neurological disorder, then brought the house down with Edith Piaf song Hymn to Love (Hymne à l'Amour) on the Eiffel Tower.

About 300,000 spectators watched the event from stands along the banks of the Seine and another 200,000 watching from balconies and buildings. 110 leaders of countries and international organizations were present at the opening ceremony.