Blasphemy: Paris Olympic Organizers Tender Apology

The organizers of the Paris Olympics have apologized for a scene during the opening ceremony that some critics described as a parody of “The Last Supper” by Leonardo da Vinci.

The scene featured drag artists and dancers, which was widely criticized by the Catholic Church and Christian groups.

The French Catholic Church stated that the festivities included scenes of derision and mockery of Christianity.

In response, a Paris 2024 spokesperson said “There was never an intention to show disrespect to any religious group. On the contrary, I think we tried to celebrate community and tolerance. We believe this ambition was achieved. If people have taken any offense, we’re of course sorry.”

While the scene has faced criticism, the opening ceremony was also widely praised, with some people pointing out that the scene was more reminiscent of other works, like “The Feast of the Gods” by Johann Rottenhammer and Jan Brueghel.

The director of the opening ceremony, Thomas Jolly, insisted that “The Last Supper” was not the inspiration behind the scene. He stated that “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 my work, any desire of mocking anyone.”

The official Olympics account on X (formerly Twitter) also posted that the

interpretation of the Greek God Dionysus makes us aware of the absurdity of violence between human beings.