There is no such thing as the perfect opening ceremony in the Olympic Games. Yet, the bar goes up when Paris is the host city. In the drenched French capital on Friday evening, there were hits and lows in the first-ever show held outside the main stadium:

Highs

Zizou and Rafa

The high point no doubt was Zinedine Zidane, hero of France’s 1998 World Cup final triumph in the same city, shuffling on the ramp with ‘Zizou, Zizou’ ringing out, from mini-flag waving athletes and fans. Receiving the torch and passing on to Rafael Nadal, in his second home as a 14-time French Open champion was heart-warming too.

Steed on Seine

The glittering metal horse, mounted on a raft and in slow-motion gallop, stood out as it sped down the Seine in the darkness of the Parisian night. A woman Gendarmier officer wearing silver armour then rode a real horse carrying the Olympic flag in a representation of the Olympic spirit and of Sequana, the goddess of the Seine River.

Celine Dion croons

The Canadian “Queen of Power Ballads” clad in white stole the show at the very end with her rendering of Edith Piaf’s Hymne a’lamour from halfway up the Eiffel Tower just below the Olympic rings universally hailed. It held great poignancy as it was the 56-year-old’s first stage performance in three years after a battle with Stiff Person Syndrome.

Innovative cauldron

The lighting of the Olympic cauldron lived up to the benchmark set at previous host cities with triple Olympic gold medallists, track star Marie-Jose Perec and judoka Teddy Riner, lighting a floating cauldron near the Louvre Museum which rose like a hot air balloon into the night sky. The flame is 100% electric, made of water and light with no fuel.

Lows

India attire

For Indian fans, the attire of their athletes left much to be desired. They were bland and thousands took to social media to question the designer dresses worn by the huge numbers who were paraded on the flotilla down the Seine River.

Flag, faux pas

The Olympic flag was delivered in some mystery by the horsewoman, but it ended up being hoisted upside down, striking a jarring note. To make matters worse South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea, was introduced as the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, in short North Korea. The International Olympic Committee has said it “deeply apologises” for the broadcast shocker.

Ambition ‘n execution

When the French Games organisers planned the opening ceremony on the Seine, President Emmanuel Macron had called it a “crazy idea that must be real”. In the end, the show was a tad disjointed. It lasted almost four hours and only came alive as night fell when most athletes – the biggest stakeholders – who braved the rain in the river parade having to leave before the final acts.