PARIS — Drizzles, sprinkles and then full-on, nonstop rain drenched the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics. Ponchos, tarps and Eiffel Tower-patterned umbrellas weren't enough to protect the soggy but cheering crowds watching the show on the banks of the choppy Seine River.
It's been an unusually wet year for Paris, and Friday proved no exception — an especially wet July day for the unprecedented open-air Olympics extravaganza.
The skies were gray with intermittent drizzle throughout the afternoon. They cleared as the ceremony began, but rains picked up as the procession advanced down the river. Spectators along the river that runs through the heart of the city pulled on hoods and umbrellas as it started up again.
''Do you guys have ponchos to give out?'' one man asked an Olympic volunteer.
The mood in the stands remained lively and people danced despite the droplets to music echoing over the river. But as the rain grew heavier, a trickle of spectators began to file out of the ceremony. Others ducked under trees.
Paris resident Sophie Peret called the opening ceremony a ''once-in-a-lifetime'' experience and came prepared for rain with a poncho and an umbrella.
''We know Paris,'' she said with a laugh, adding: ''Even if it's raining, we're happy to be here.''
The rain soaked dancers on Paris rooftops, a catwalk show spanning the river, breakdancers spinning precariously on slippery floating platforms, grand pianos, VIPs watching the show and world-famous torchbearers lighting the Olympic cauldron.
