Lady Gaga and French-Malian singer Aya Nakamura joined dancers, an opera diva and even a heavy metal band in an opening ceremony for the Paris Olympics that sought to proudly showcase French culture with a modern twist.

The first-ever opening ceremony held outside a stadium -- on the River Seine -- had to battle driving rain that cast a pallid gloom over the City of Light.

The fast-moving and multi-location ceremony masterminded by acclaimed French theatre director Thomas Jolly was aimed at impressing the global TV audience as much as those who braved the weather and intense security to watch live.