BBC viewers all say the same thing as Andrew Cotter translates ...

BBC viewers are all saying the same thing after Andrew Cotter translated the Opening Ceremony of the 2024 Paris Olympics on the fly.

Andrew Cotter and Hazel Irvine were left to battle the elements as they commentated on the Paris Olympics opening ceremony when the rain came pouring down and soaked the French capital. But it wasn't just the rain that they had to contend with, because the pair had to translate the entire speech and everything that was said at the event, too.

Reacting to Andrew's "amazing" and "off the cuff" translation, fans and viewers took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to praise the broadcaster. One person wrote: "Andrew Cotter translating these speeches on the fly has honestly been the most impressive element of the whole thing tbh."

Another said: "Andrew - you are pretty amazing with your off the cuff translating ...! (of course, it could all be 'gobbligook'!)." While a third person echoed: "Andrew cotter doing live translation is worth the price of the bbc license fee alone," to which a fourth responded: "…'there’s something about love here..' I adore him!!!"

"Agreed ‘we can all be proud of parading together’," penned someone else. A sixth then added: "At this point we're only still watching the #OpeningCeremony to see if Andrew Cotter has a breakdown," while a seventh said: "He’s a bloody legend."

Another person then offered: "Andrew Cotter is bringing a touch of the Terry Wogan to this Opening Ceremony and I'm here for it. Hazel and him together are terrific." While someone else chimed in by saying: "I hope Andrew Cotter and Hazel Irvine are going out to get pissed after this! They have done amazingly well not to just give up commentating on such garbage!"

This comes after viewers tuning into the Opening Ceremony brutally slammed it while pitting it against the London 2012 ceremony. One person said on X: "12 years later and ten minutes in and this #OpeningCeremony is clearly coming nowhere near to London 2012." While another echoed: "I’m sorry but this has to be the worst Olympic opening ceremony in memory. It’s an interesting idea bringing the athletes in on boats but it looks rubbish and misses the roar of the crowd. Sorry but not for me."

American singer Lady Gaga has said it was her "supreme honour" to perform at the Paris Olympics opening ceremony earlier this evening, despite sound issues and heavy rain putting a dampener on her performance. The Oscar-winning star, 39, surprised viewers by singing in French during her performance earlier this evening, which saw her deliver a burlesque take on the French classic Mon Truc En Plume.

On X, she started a lengthy message by penning: "I feel so completely grateful to have been asked to open the Paris @Olympics 2024 this year. I am also humbled to be asked by the Olympics organising committee to sing such a special French song—a song to honour the French people and their tremendous history of art, music, and theatre."

Follow Mirror Celebs on TikTok , Snapchat , Instagram , Twitter , Facebook , YouTube and Threads