Rita Ora made a striking arrival on the opening night of the 80th Venice International Film Festival on Wednesday evening.

The singer, 32, left little to the imagination in a black mesh polka dot catsuit which revealed her shimmering underwear.

She completed the glamorous ensemble with a white fur coat and platform heels, while accessorising with quirky sunglasses.

Rita styled her golden tresses in waves, while sporting a bronzed makeup palette with a nude lip.

The Poison hitmaker appeared in great spirits while posing for snaps on a speed boat which was taking her to the event.

The Venice International Film Festival is the oldest film festival in the world, with its 80th edition opening today.

The festival opens with the premiere of Italian World War Two film Comandante, directed by Edoardo De Angelis. The event will run until September 9 and closes with a Spanish-language Netflix drama Society of the Snow.

The Festival takes place on the Venice Lido – the so-called beach of Venice – a thin barrier island in the Venetian Lagoon, which is a short boat trip from the main city of Venice. Unlike Venice itself, cars have access to the Lido.

The festival marks the start of the awards season and regularly throws up big favourites for the Oscars. Eight of the past 11 best director awards at the Oscars went to films that debuted at Venice.

There are several categories making up the official selection of films shown, the top being those competing for the coveted Golden Lion award.

New films by directors including Bradley Cooper, Yorgos Lanthimos, David Fincher, Michael Mann, Sofia Coppola, Ava DuVernay and Ryusuke Hamaguchi will compete for the prestigious award.

Movie stars and directors traditionally enjoy travelling to the lagoon city to launch their films. However, this year will offer a bit less sparkle than usual because a Hollywood actors’ strike will prevent many stars from promoting their work here.

The festival’s artistic director Alberto Barbera is putting a brave face on the expected disruption and has managed to attract one of the strongest line-ups in recent years, defying dire predictions of a mass no-show by big studio productions.

‘We know that some talent will not be able to attend … But some others will come because they are working in the independent films. So everything is good. It looks very positive.’

Away from Venice’s picture-perfect canals, a sense of crisis pervades the movie-making business, with strikes by both the main U.S. actors and writers’ unions bringing much of the entertainment industry to a standstill.

‘If the strikes last longer, it will have a huge, negative impact on the next (release) season and the awards season as well,’ Barbera said.

Rita has been enjoying a sun-soaked holiday after celebrating her husband Taika Waititi’s 48th birthday on the island with a whole host of pals.

The pair marked the occasion earlier this month by dining alfresco and dancing the night away with their celebrity friends as Diplo served as DJ for the lavish bash.

The event, hosted by Klemens Hallmann, saw guests enjoying their meal on a long lavishly decorated table with many taking it in turns to gives speeches in honour of Taika.

The likes of Ashley Roberts, singer Jess Glynne, Jodie Turner-Smith and TOWIE’s Chloe Sims were amongst the star-studded guest list for the fun-filled party.

The guests were treated to a special menu by private chef Andrea Colecchia and exclusively curated cocktails by Prospero Tequila and 71 Gin.

Rita has been enjoying her down time after a busy few weeks, which has included jetting down under to film The Voice Australia as well as performing her new material around the world.

It comes after Rita revealed her hopes of starting a family with husband , after they tied the knot in 2022, said she would love to have children as she opened up on an upcoming episode of Running Wild With : The Challenge.

She said she would love to have children as she opened up on an upcoming episode of Running Wild With Bear Grylls : The Challenge.

Rita said on the National Geographic show: ‘I’d love to have children of course when the time is right. Fingers crossed.’