- Flag bearers Jess Fox and Eddie Ockenden front and centre
- The Australians sailed down the Seine River in front of 320,000 spectators
- Australian viewers were unimpressed with one aspect of the team
It took a while, but the Australian team made their Paris Olympics debut in stunning style, ignoring the rain as they celebrated aboard a boat on the city’s famous River Seine.
Wet weather meant athletes from other countries covered up for the unique start to the Games, but Australians left their raincoats in the athletes’ village as flag bearers Jess Fox and Eddie Ockenden stood out from the crowd.
Channel Nine’s coverage only showed the green and gold team very briefly after viewers were left angry and confused by the competitors’ late arrival in Paris.
Many Australians had hoped their heroes would be among the first nations to parade down the Seine, but Olympic protocol dictates that nations hosting the games must wait until near the end of the parade, meaning the team came third to last, as Brisbane is due to host the Games in 2032.
Some of the team were lucky enough to meet Queen Mary of Denmark, who showed she remains Australian at heart when she met them in the athletes’ village ahead of the ceremony.
Fox, Ockenden and the rest of the 460-member Australian team made their entrance in front of around 320,000 people who watched 85 boats make the journey along the river.
However, many viewers were unhappy with the team’s uniforms, calling them basic and boring.
“Sorry, but the US, Australian, French and Bulgarian uniforms don’t deserve to be here. Look at them! I’m no fashion expert, but even I know they’re basic,” wrote one viewer.
Flag bearer Jess Fox was soaked by the rain in Paris but the bad weather could not dampen her spirits as the Australian team made their way up the River Seine.
Members of the Australian team wave to the crowd of 320,000 spectators as they cruise down the famous channel early on Saturday morning.
Tennis great Lleyton Hewitt (third from left) was among Australians celebrating the start of the Paris Games.
“The moment I saw Australia in those basic uniforms I knew the roster was going to be shit,” commented another.
“Australia in navy blazers, white shirts with yellow and green trim… A bit disappointing,” wrote a third.
“Australia, my God, what are those uniforms?” another viewer asked.
The Australians’ blazers are actually dark green, but due to the rain they received in Paris, the shade appeared navy blue on television.
The carefully choreographed outdoor parade began at 3:30am AEST, with an incredible performance by American superstar Lady Gaga, who wowed the crowd by performing a stunning Folie Bergiere entirely in French.
Forecasters who predicted that unusually rainy July weather would be a “disaster” for the outdoor ceremony appeared to have been right, as heavy rain drowned out the music for those watching from home.
Meanwhile, the screen at the Trocadero, where thousands of spectators gather, seemed to have been blacked out due to the bad weather.
Instead of crowds dressed in shorts and T-shirts to soak up the Parisian sun, the streets were lined with umbrellas and spectators, including celebrities, resorting to ponchos to protect themselves from the rain.
Viewers in Australia were confused by the late appearance of the Australians during the ceremony, as they were the third-to-last nation to appear.
Some Australians were very disappointed with the team’s “basic” uniforms: their blazers appeared to be navy blue instead of dark green due to the humidity.
The ceremony began with a short film starring French football legend Zinedine Zidane, who carried the Olympic torch before passing it on to local children who appeared on the banks of the river.
Those watching from the banks of the famous river – as well as from their armchairs around the world – were treated to a quintessentially Parisian representation of the cancan dance, with pink-clad dancers lighting up the grey sky.
The ceremony focused on many aspects of the city’s history. The flame passed through the workshop of world-famous French handbag designer Louis Vuitton before a dance referencing the reconstruction of Notre Dame following the 2019 fire.
A heavy metal band began singing in reference to the violence of the French Revolution, while an ode was paid to Victor Hugo’s novel Les Misérables and a “headless” Marie Antoinette could be seen along the route.