Paris 2024 breaks silence on Olympic opening ceremony controversy, organisers apologise after Christians criticised spectacle for woke parody of Last Supper
- Friday night’s Olympic Games opening ceremony sparked much controversy
- Many Christians were angry about a scene they thought depicted the Last Supper
- But Anne Descamps, organizer of Paris 2024, said: “It is clear that there was never any intention to show disrespect to any religious group.”
Paris 2024 organiser Anne Descamps has apologised for any offensive religious images during the opening ceremony.
Friday’s showpiece drew criticism for a banquet scene in which an actor playing the Greek god Dionysus stood center stage at a table of transvestites, a scene reminiscent of Leonardo da Vinci’s painting The Last Supper.
Some religious groups condemned the ceremony, including the Catholic Church in France, which said it contained “scenes of mockery and ridicule of Christianity.”
At a press conference on Sunday, Descamps apologized for the offensive words and stressed that the ceremony was intended to “celebrate tolerance within the community.”
“It was clearly never the intention to disrespect any religious group,” she said. “On the contrary, I think Thomas Jolly was certainly trying to celebrate the tolerance of the community. We believe that ambition has been achieved, and if anyone has been offended by anything, we are of course very sorry.”
This scene featuring drag queens reenacting The Last Supper caused controversy Friday night at the opening ceremony of the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris
Anne Descamps, communications director for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, pictured at a press conference
The International Olympic Committee later said in a statement: “The IOC notes and welcomes the clarification provided by the Paris 2024 Organizing Committee regarding the Opening Ceremony.
‘During the daily press conference, the organizing committee said there was never any intention to show disrespect to any religious group or belief.
“They reiterated that their intention with the opening ceremony was always to celebrate community and tolerance. The organizing committee also said that if anyone was offended by certain scenes, it was completely unintentional and that they were sorry.”
Sunday’s apology came after thousands of social media users threatened to boycott the Paris Games over the opening ceremony.
Angry viewers took to X (formerly Twitter) where “#boycottOlympics” and “#boycottParis2024” trended all the next day.
The appearance of a “naked blue man” in a scene resembling the Last Supper angered many onlookers, especially Christians.
One of them wrote: ‘What a shameful opening of the 2024 Olympic Games #BoycottOlympics.’
Another stated that they “didn’t care about the Olympics” but were now “boycotting them 100 percent.”
A singing artist painted in blue depicted the Greek god Dionysus during Friday’s ceremony
But US-based Pastor Benjamin Cremer later shared a post debunking accusations that the controversial drag queen scene was a mockery of Leonardo da Vinci’s classic painting and thus of Christianity.
Cremer’s message read: ‘It was a representation of the event called the festival of Dionysus. Greek god of festivities and feasts and rituals and theatre.’
‘The Olympic Games come from Greek culture and tradition. French culture is deeply rooted in celebrations and festivities and performing arts.’
According to Cremer’s theory, the scene depicted during the opening ceremony is based on a painting entitled ‘Feast of the Gods’ by Johann Rottenhammer and Jan Bruegel, circa 1602.
