The Eiffel Tower lit up in red, blue and white on Friday (July 26) night as the Olympic Games' opening ceremony wrapped up, marking the official start of the world-class tournament.

Spectators watched the light show on the tower from far and wide, some recording the moment on their phones amid drizzling rain.

As the show started four hours earlier, a giant plume of blue, white and red smoke, resembling the French flag, was sent high above a bridge over the Seine as part of a show that included many postcard-like depictions of France, including a huge cancan line performed by Moulin Rouge dancers on the banks.

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It was the first time that an opening ceremony had taken place outside a stadium, adding to the headaches for a vast security operation, just hours after a sabotage attack on the high-speed TGV rail network caused travel chaos across France.

(Production: Miguel Pereira, Antony Paone, Juarawee Kittisilpa)