Paris Olympics 2024: Olympic flag raised upside down in opening ceremony blunder

The Olympic flag is raised at Place du Trocadero during the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games 2024 on July 27 in Paris, France. Photo / Getty Images

The Olympic flag was flown upside down in a blunder by opening ceremony organisers, who otherwise escaped any major slip-ups alongside the Seine.

Rain-soaked spectators were quick to spot the five rings upside down after the flag was raised aloft after a lengthy and flamboyant show from the French.

The flag had been raised at the Trocadéro after an elaborate scene in which a jockey who is meant to represent Sequana, the goddess of the Seine in the Gallo-Roman religion, carried the flag while riding a mechanical silver horse “galloping” down the riverside. The armour was designed by a young French designer named Jeanne Friot.

The Olympic flag was raised at Place du Trocadero during the opening ceremony.

It had otherwise been an opening ceremony like no other as athletes sailed down the river to the sound of Lady Gaga and more. Despite treacherous conditions caused by the rain, there was barely a foot out of step among the dancers or even a skid from the BMX riders.

Zinedine Zidane starred in a video to tee-up the arrival of the Olympic flame before flares were set off from the Pont d’Austerlitz formed a tricolore.

A total of 85 boats then began carrying the team delegations on a 6km journey through the centre of Paris, with more than 300,000 spectators lining the banks of the river.

Lady Gaga was the first to steal the show, bursting forth from behind a pair of outsized pink pom-poms to deliver a burlesque take on the French classic Mon truc en plumes. The performances came in all shapes and sizes, with Gojira adding a dramatic twist of heavy metal.

I feel so completely grateful to have been asked to open the Paris @Olympics 2024 this year. I am also humbled to be asked by the Olympics organizing committee to sing such a special French song—a song to honor the French people and their tremendous history of art, music, and… pic.twitter.com/FMNyiosHUR

— Lady Gaga (@ladygaga) July 26, 2024

British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer was among those watching from the main stadium in the Jardins du Trocadéro, wearing a Team GB rain jacket, while others were decked out in ponchos.

Other famous faces within the stadium – aside from IOC president Thomas Bach and French President Emmanuel Macron included Ariana Grande, Serena Williams and John Legend.

With the rain becoming increasingly heavy, one of the big screens in the stadium relaying pictures of the parade to the watching dignitaries failed a little over an hour into the proceedings.