Olympic organisers spark outrage after breaking silence on ‘Last Supper mockery’

The Catholic church has described it as a 'mockery of Christianity'

Organiser, Anne Descamps, came out in a press conference yesterday to apologise to anyone the ceremony may have caused offence to.

The scene in question featured in a fever dream section of Friday's opening ceremony which saw a scantly dressed and blue painted actor playing Greek god Dionysus revealed from under a cloche surrounded by drag queens.

Many people drew similarities between the scene and 'Leonardo da Vinci's The Last Supper painting', causing outrage among many people, notably Christian communities.

Some religious groups condemned the ceremony, including the Catholic Church in France who said it included 'scenes of derision and mockery of Christianity'.

Organisers wrote on X that the scene was intended to interpret Dionysus, the Greek god of wine, and raise awareness "of the absurdity of violence between human beings."

This was elaborated on yesterday in a press conference when Descamps apologised for any offence caused and insisted that the ceremony intended to "celebrate community tolerance."

She said: "Clearly there was never an intention to show disrespect to any religious group, on the contrary, I think Thomas Jolly did try to intend to celebrate community tolerance. We believe this ambition was achieved, if people have taken any offence, we of course are really sorry."

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) said in a statement: "The IOC has taken note of and welcomes the clarification given by the Paris 2024 Organising Committee regarding the Opening Ceremony."

France as a country can be considered a double-edged sword when it comes to religion.

The nation has a rich Catholic heritage but also a long tradition of secularism and anti-clericalism with religion be separated from law in 1905 while the country maintains a blanket ban on all religious symbols in public schools since 2004.

Blasphemy is legal and considered by lots as an essential pillar of freedom of speech, and there were many who praised the shows message of inclusivity and tolerance.

However clerical figures have struggled to see the mock-up that way, regardless of intention.

Monsignor Emmanuel Gobilliard, a delegate of the bishops of France for the Games, claimed some French athletes had trouble sleeping after the ceremony because of the fallout from the controversy.

Catholics abroad were equally unimpressed as Archbishop Charles Scicluna, the highest-ranking Catholic official in Malta and an official for the Vatican’s powerful doctrinal office, said he had contacted France’s ambassador to Valletta to complain about the “gratuitous insult”.

Meanwhile the Italian bishops’ conference said that what should have been a celebration of French culture took an “unexpectedly negative turn, becoming a parade of banal errors, accompanied by trite and predictable ideologies”.

One daily Italian newspaper, Avvenire, affiliated with the Catholic church, went as far as to say: “Don’t take us for moralistic bigots, but what’s the point of having to experience every single global event, even a sporting one, as if it were a Gay Pride?”

Swaths of people were enraged, taking to X to express their discontent of the ceremony.

One user wrote: "What a disgraceful opening to the 2024 Olympics #BoycottOlympics."

Meanwhile another user claimed they "didn't even care about the Olympics" but were now "100 per cent boycotting."

However, one social media user did try and offer an explanation for the scene.

Reverend Benjamin Cremer, based in the US, said the image portrayed might have been "a representation of the event called the Feast of Dionysus. Greek God of festivity and feasting and ritual and theatre.

"The Olympics are from Greek culture and tradition. French culture is deeply rooted in feasting and festivity and performing arts.

According to Cremer's theory, the scene depicted in the opening ceremony was based on a painting called "Feast of the Gods" by Johann Rottenhammer and Jan Bruegel, circa 1602. 

Thomas Jolly, the artistic director behind the opening ceremony explained the reasoning behind the performance.

He said: “We wanted to talk about diversity. Diversity means being together. We wanted to include everyone, as simple as that."

Despite controversary surrounding the opening ceremony, the Olympics are now in full flow on day three as medals continue to be won and records look to be smashed.

The games continue for the next 13 days until the 11 August.