The organizers of the Paris Olympic Games issued an apology on Sunday to Catholics and representatives of other Christian denominations who were outraged by a fragment of the opening ceremony reminiscent of the painting “The Last Supper,” depicting Christ’s last meal. The artistic director of the opening ceremony said he was not mocking anyone, and that the “supper” also featured the figure of Dionysus, which was meant to refer to the Greek Olympus, and thus Olympism.
The Olympic Games opened in Paris on Friday during a ceremonial event. The hours-long event was controversial for a scene called “Festivite” featuring drag queens, a transgender model and a nearly naked singer dressed as the Greek god of wine, Dionysus. The scene stirred up controversy among Catholics and the Holy See, who found it similar to Leonardo da Vinci’s “The Last Supper,” a painting depicting the last meal of Jesus Christ with his apostles.
See: Summary of the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics
The French Episcopal Conference on Saturday criticized the ceremony, saying it “ridicules Christianity.” Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia, president of the Pontifical Academy for Life, commented on some scenes from Friday’s inauguration by saying the ideal of fraternity had been “slandered by the blasphemous mockery of one of the most sacred moments of Christianity.”
Opening of the Olympic Games in Paris Eurosport
The reaction of the organizers
Organisers issued an apology Sunday to Catholics and other Christians who were outraged by the scene. “It is clear that it was never our intention to show disrespect towards any religious group. (The opening ceremony – ed.) was meant to celebrate social tolerance,” Paris Olympic spokeswoman Anne Descamps said at a news conference.
– We believe that this ambition has been achieved. If anyone felt offended, we are very sorry – she added.
The International Olympic Committee announced that it had taken note of the explanations from the Paris 2024 organizing committee.
Artistic Director: My goal is not to question, ridicule or shock
Thomas Jolly, artistic director and the originator of the ceremony, when asked about the controversial scene, which could be associated with the painting “The Last Supper”, assured that it was “not his inspiration”. “I thought it was quite clear, because Dionysus comes to the table. He is there because he is the god of celebration, wine, the father of the Seine, the goddess associated with the river,” Jolly explained in an interview with the BFMTV portal.
– The idea was rather to have a great pagan celebration, associated with the gods of Olympus… Olympus – Olympism – he added.
As the French agency AFP points out, some Internet users on social media pointed to the scene from the ceremony painting “The Feast of the Gods”. This work was painted by a 17th-century painter Jana Harmensza van Bilje is located in a museum in Dijon in central France.
Jolly said he did not want to disparage or mock “anything” and was motivated by a desire for the ceremony to be reconciling and “reaffirming the values” of the republic. He stressed that his intention was never to criticize religion. “We wanted to talk about diversity. Diversity means being together. We wanted to include everyone, simply,” he told reporters.
“My goal is not to question, ridicule or shock. Above all, I wanted to convey a message of love, inclusion, not division. Of course, it was never our intention to show disrespect to any religious group. The ceremony was intended to draw attention to tolerance in society,” Jolly later told AP.
Asked about another controversial motif – the figure of the decapitated Marie Antoinette holding her own head in her hands – Jolly assured that it was not a “glorification of the instrument of death”, the guillotine. The scene was criticized in a Sunday commentary by the daily “Le Figaro”.
Main image source: Eurosport
