Rain dampens the Copacabana party

Olympics fans who travelled to Rio to watch beach volleyball in their bikinis have learnt a harsh truth - it rains even at Copacabana.

The famed beach's 12,000-capacity purpose-built stadium, bursting at the seams only days ago, was a sad sight in wind and relentless drizzle on Wednesday.

On Saturday, thousands of fired-up revellers lined up for hours in the heat for a seat at the venue advertised as the Games' hottest place to be.

Four days later, the music still pumped but the punters just hadn't rocked up.

For those who did there was, thankfully, still beer.

Ponchos were the party wear of the day as floodlights lit up centre court to offset darkened skies.

And though most hips were well and truly covered, they still swivelled to Ritchie Valens' La Bamba and Zorba's Dance.

The Qatar men's team kept the vibe alive, egging on their spectators to heavy beats after doing away with Austria in the preliminary round.

Dutch side Marleen van Iersel and Madelein Meppelink kept cosy in long black tights and long-sleeved tops during the morning's opening match.

For their bikini-clad slayers, Australia's Louise Bawden and Taliqua Clancy, the cold was rather less of a concern.

"I was just worried about the rain ruining my hair," Clancy said after their win.

By early afternoon the wind was shaking the palm trees and visibility had dropped enough to send jogging locals off the promenade and indoors.

Australia's second team really felt the worsening conditions.

"The wind was a big factor in our game," said Nikki Laird, who lost to China alongside teammate Mariafe Artacho del Solar.

"It was very swirly across the court and into your face on one end."