Deciphered: Backlash to 2024 Olympics Opening Ceremony Over ‘Last Supper’ Parody
2024 Olympic Games: According to the ceremony’s artistic director, Thomas Jolly, the scene was intended to reference pagan gods and pay tribute to the community’s tolerance.
Paris Olympics organisers apologised on Sunday after receiving criticism from the public, particularly Christian groups, over the “inappropriate” depiction of a key “biblical scene” during the opening ceremony.
During the event, a group of drag artists performed an act based on what critics called a parody of the Last Supper, as depicted in Leonardo da Vinci’s famous 15th-century painting. The Catholic Church in France was among the critics who claimed the act “mocked” Christianity.
An American telecommunications company, C Spire, even announced that it would withdraw its advertising for the Games, calling the performance during the ceremony offensive.
“It was clearly never the intention to show disrespect to any religious group,” Paris 2024 spokeswoman Anne Descamps told reporters on Sunday. Event officials also denied claims that the sequence was inspired by The Last Supper.
The performance featured a nearly naked man, painted in blue, lying on a dining table surrounded by fruit. The man presented a song for the ceremony, to which the surrounding drag queens danced.
According to the ceremony’s artistic director, Thomas Jolly, the scene was designed to reference pagan gods, aimed at celebrating the community’s tolerance. The idea was to have a large pagan festival connected to the gods of Olympus, the director said.
What is the Last Supper?
The ‘Last Supper’ is a famous event from the Christian tradition and is a popular subject in Christian art. Vinci’s 15th-century painting is one of the most striking depictions of this event.
According to the Milan Museum, the event is the depiction of the ‘dinner’ between the Christian religious figure Jesus Christ and his disciples. Vinci completed this artwork between 1494 and 1498 under the government of Ludovico il Moro.
First print: Jul 29, 2024 | 5:08 PM IST