Paris Olympics Organizers Apologize for ‘Last Supper’ Parody Criticized by Church Groups
By Trek Africa Newspaper
The Paris Olympics organizers have apologized for a scene during the opening ceremony that some critics described as a parody of “The Last Supper.”
The scene featured drag artists and dancers and was widely criticized by the Catholic Church and Christian groups.
The French Catholic Church said the festivities “included scenes of derision and mockery of Christianity.”
Paris 2024 spokesperson Anne Descamps said, “There was clearly never an intention to show disrespect to any religious group… On the contrary, I think we tried to celebrate community, tolerance. We believe this ambition was achieved. If people have taken any offense, we’re of course really sorry.”
Thomas Jolly, the director of the opening ceremony, insisted that “The Last Supper” wasn’t the inspiration behind the scene, saying, “Dionysus arrives at the table because he is the Greek God of celebration and that sequence is called ‘festivity’…
The idea was to create a big pagan party in link with the God of Mount Olympus — and you will never find in me, or in my work, any desire of mocking anyone.”
The official Olympics account posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, “The interpretation of the Greek God Dionysus makes us aware of the absurdity of violence between human beings.”
