Rain could dampen excitement of Paris Olympics opening ceremony

Editor’s note: FollowOlympic opening ceremony live updates.

Rain clouds covered most of Paris on Friday morning as the weather threatened to, quite literally, rain on Olympic organizers’ parade.

As of midday Friday, the forecast in Paris called for mild temperatures of around 68 degrees but plenty of clouds and a high probability of rain through the evening. According Météo-France, which is akin to the National Weather Service in the United States, the rain "will be continuous and sometimes moderate in intensity until the middle of the night."

Paris organizers have previously said the opening ceremony would go on as planned in the event of rain, though Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo suggested in an interview with CNN on Thursday that poor weather could pose some problems.

"I think the rain will be a problem if we have rain (during the opening ceremony) because many moments in this show need to be very safe for the dancer and without rain and without water," Hidalgo told CNN.

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Opening ceremony on the Seine

This year’s ceremony will break from tradition as the parade of nations will take place on Paris’ River Seine. This year will be the first time the opening ceremony will be held outside of a stadium in the history of the modern Games. 

From a technical, television perspective, the extravaganza will be the most complicated event that has ever been produced. The Olympic Broadcasting Service will operate 100 cameras along the parade route and each delegation will have access to a live mobile phone camera on the boat. NBC will be tracking Team USA’s route, and the Americans will be second-to-last down the river because the U.S. will host the 2028 Games in Los Angeles.