The first official day of the 2024 Olympic Games has begun in Paris, following a colourful opening ceremony on the banks of the River Seine.

Erika Fairweather has narrowly missed out on winning New Zealand's first medal at the Paris Olympics after finishing fourth in the women's 400-metre freestyle final.

"Obviously a little bit gutted to get fourth. Nobody wants to be there, but I have done myself proud. I mean that was an Olympic final and I just came fourth in it," Fairweather told media after the race.

"That was everything I had in the bank today. It wasn't the performance I wanted to put out there at all. I've been much faster, and I think I can go much faster, but that is the nature of sport - you can't always be on.

"I might be a little bit upset now, but I can definitely see the bright side of it."

Follow all the action with RNZ's liveblog:

This story was originally published by RNZ