Olympics begin with boat party — Lady Gaga singing, children taking the flame from Zinedine Zidane — as Paris puts behind terror scare

AFTER THE arson attacks, bomb threats, the locked down city centre and bouts of anxiety came plumes of blue, white and red smoke with a splash of water — the ‘water curtains’ — on Pont d’Austerlitz. And in that instant, shortly after 7.30 pm local time, the whole of Paris heaved a collective sigh of relief.

What followed was a party never seen before on the Seine. There was Lady Gaga singing in French, little children taking the Olympic flame from Zinedine Zidane on a broken down metro (and then re-emerging on the parade along the river) and cabaret along with a celebration of love, music and sport — all in constant, heavy rain. READ MORE