Aussies are left angry and confused by surprising fact about Paris Olympics opening ceremony as they watch Lady Gaga's performance

Australians watching the opening ceremony for the Paris Olympics have been left scratching their heads as they mistakenly thought they had missed seeing their country's entrance on Channel Nine's coverage.

The competing nations sailed down the city's River Seine in a radical departure from previous Games ceremonies, with the countries going in alphabetical order according to how they are named in French - but Aussies were left puzzled as the coverage didn't feature the green and gold team early in proceedings.

When nations like the Bahamas and Bahrain were shown, viewers took to social media to voice their confusion and anger as they thought their country had been left out of the action.

Some Aussies thought they'd missed the team's entrance because the vision had switched to a performance by Lady Gaga, while others thought the athletes had been left out altogether.

However, the Aussies were absent from the early part of the coverage because the team is the third-last nation to arrive, due to Brisbane hosting the Games in 2032.

Olympics protocol dictates that future hosts always arrive near the end of the opening ceremony, with the host nation coming last - so this year, the last three nations to arrive will be the Aussies, followed by the USA because Los Angeles is hosting in 2028, then France.  

'I'm watching the opening ceremony and Cambodia are floating down the river at the moment but I haven't seen Team Australia. Where the hell are they? Or have I somehow just missed it?' one viewer wrote on X.

'Did I miss Australia? I fell asleep between barges next minute I see some weird Gaga performance,' another commented.

'Didn't seen Australia on the French Olympic opening ceremony broadcast and they're on Bs [countries starting with B] ... did Aus get skipped??' asked a third.

'What happened to Australia in the opening ceremony?!? I thought it was alphabetical in French,' added another. 

'Did I miss the #Australia boat or did that part clash with the entertainment?' another viewer asked. 

Some Aussies cottoned on to the reason for the delay, however.

'Was wondering if they missed Australia in the opening ceremony because of Lady Gaga, turns out it's because we're a future host,' one commenter wrote. 

There were frequent breaks from the vision of the boats in order to switch to musical and dance performances, as well as vision of some of the City of Light's famous landmarks like the Louvre and Notre Dame Cathedral - but none of that meant countries were skipped over.

However, the wet weather took some of the gloss off proceedings.

France's unique plan to hold the opening event outdoors rather than inside a stadium hit trouble as Parisians, celebrities, politicians and royals from all over the world were forced to shelter from the horrendous rain.

The carefully choreographed open-air parade kicked off at 3.30am AEST, with an incredible performance from American superstar Lady Gaga, who wowed crowds as she performed a stunning Folie Bergiere entirely in French.

France's tricolour flag erupted from the Pont d'Austerlitz Bridge with 6,800 athletes covered in plastic ponchos attempting to keep spirits high as they travelled down the famed waterway in a huge flotilla of 85 boats.

Meteorologists who predicted the unusual rainy July weather would be a 'disaster' for the outdoor ceremony appear to have been proved right, as the heavy showers drowned out the music for those watching at home.

Meanwhile the screen at the Trocadéro where thousands of spectators are gathered appeared to suffer a blackout as a result of the dreary weather.

Instead of crowds wearing shorts and t-shirts to soak up the Parisian sun, streets were lined with umbrellas and spectators - including celebrities - turning to ponchos to protect from the rain.