Olympic flag raised upside down at end of rain-soaked opening ceremony

The Olympic flag was raised upside down in an embarrassing moment at the very start of Paris 2024, following a spectacular, rain-soaked opening ceremony on the River Seine.

Images of the Olympic flag appeared to show that the five coloured rings of the iconic emblem were in the wrong positions and had been hoisted incorrectly.

The opening ceremony was a three-and-a-half hour spectacle on the River Seine, which saw 85 boats carry almost 7,000 athletes from 205 countries.

The flag was carried into Trocadero by a cloaked rider, who earlier galloped down the Seine on a metal horse draped in a cape emblazoned with the Olympic rings.

The rider, Floriane Issert, then concluded her ride at the closing point of the ceremony before handing it over to be hoisted, as is tradition before the Games are declared open.

At the end of the ceremony, a sparkling performance from the returning Celine Dion lit up the soaked Paris streets after a day of heavy rain threatened to dampen the show.

French three-time Olympic gold medallists Marie-Jose Perec and Teddy Riner lit the Paris 2024 Olympic cauldron during the opening ceremony, where it is to burn while the Games are under way in the French capital.

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A dazzling laser show that lit up the Eiffel Tower did its best to pierce the leaden skies over Paris but two hours of unrelenting rain ensured a sodden start for an Olympic opening ceremony like no other.

Meanwhile, a sodden-looking Tom Daley and Helen Glover held the Union flag aloft in front of the 37 other hardy GB athletes willing to expose themselves to the dismal conditions.

Elsewhere, wwo masked figures featured in the opening ceremony, first as a mysterious torchbearer ran across rooftops before a caped rider galloped down the Seine on a metal horse to deliver the Olympic flag.

The rider, a non-commissioned officer in the Gendarmerie Nationale clad in silver armour, concluded her ride at the Trocadero, giving the Olympic flag a majestic entrance before it was hoisted - although the wrong way round.

Earlier, a figure wearing a black cloak, white hood and with their face covered by a dark fencing mask was heavily featured in the three--and-a-half-hour ceremony.

Produced by director Thomas Jolly, the show included appearances from Lady Gaga, Zinedine Zidane and, for some reason, The Minions, before finishing with Dion’s return.

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The 56-year-old singer said in late 2022 that she had been diagnosed with a rare neurological disorder called stiff-person syndrome that causes muscle spasms.

The syndrome causes muscle rigidity and increased sensitivity to sound, touch and emotional stimuli that can trigger spasms. The condition led the multiple Grammy winner to cancel all of her tour dates for 2023 and 2024.

The Canadian singer, who started her career singing in French, has not performed live since March 2020, when she appeared in New Jersey.

Dion made a comeback to the live stage on Friday singing Edith Piaf’s classic “L’Hymne A l’Amour” to close the opening ceremony.