The River Seine played host to a soggy and eventful opening ceremony on Friday night as the 33rd Olympic Games were officially opened.
Artistic Director Thomas Jolly oversaw proceedings, with the likes of Celine Dion and Lady Gaga performing after hundreds of athletes were paraded on boats along the river.
Fans were not particularly overawed by the scenes in the French capital, with some claiming it paled in comparison to the London 2012 opening ceremony.
Some aspects of the ceremony have also came in for intense criticism, particularly a scene which saw a portrayal of Leonardo da Vinci’s Last Supper painting featuring a diverse line-up which included several drag artists among those dining at the iconic table.
Elon Musk posted on X that the scene was ‘extremely disrespectful to Christians’, while several religious figures condemned the depiction.
Among them was the Catholic church in France, with the Conference of French bishops saying in a statement: ‘This ceremony has unfortunately included scenes of derision and mockery of Christianity, which we very deeply deplore.’
US Catholic Bishop Robert Barron described the portrayal as ‘gross mockery’ of The Last Supper, adding: ‘I love the Olympics, so I turn on the opening ceremony of the Olympics.
‘And what do I see now? It’s in Paris, France, a city I love, I spent three years as a doctoral student there.
‘I see this gross mockery of the last supper and I won’t describe it any further.
‘France felt evidently as it’s trying to put its best cultural foot forward, that the right thing to do is to mock this very central moment in Christianity where Jesus at his last supper gives his body and blood in anticipation of the cross.’
Responding to the controversy, Paris 2024 spokesperson Anne Descamps said apologised if ‘any offence’ was caused but defended the overall ceremony and says it ‘achieved their ambition’.
‘Clearly there was never an intention to show disrespect to any religious group,’ she said.
‘[The opening ceremony] tried to celebrate community tolerance. We believe this ambition was achieved. If people have taken any offence we are really sorry.’
Artistic Director Jolly added: ‘My wish isn’t to be subversive, nor to mock or to shock. Diversity means being together. We wanted to include everyone, as simple as that.’
Criticism also came from further afield, with Germany’s Bishop of Passau Stefan Oster saying: ‘An impressive opening to hopefully peaceful games.
‘The queer Last Supper was a low point, however, and wholly superfluous in the context.’
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