2024 Olympic Organizers Apologize to Catholics for Last Supper Parody in Opening Ceremony

Paris 2024 organizer Anne Descamps has issued an apology to Catholics and other Christian groups for any offense caused by the religious depictions in the opening ceremony.

The ceremony featured a parody of Leonardo da Vinci’s The Last Supper, including drag queens, a transgender model, and a singer made up as the Greek god of wine.

The performance, set against the backdrop of the River Seine, aimed to interpret Dionysus and highlight “the absurdity of violence between human beings,” as explained by the organizers on X.

However, the depiction sparked outrage among Catholics, Christian groups, and conservative politicians worldwide, prompting the committee to issue an apology.

During a press conference on Sunday, Descamps expressed regret for any offense caused and emphasized that the ceremony was intended to “celebrate community tolerance.”

“Clearly, there was never an intention to show disrespect to any religious group,” she said. “On the contrary, I think Thomas Jolly aimed to celebrate community tolerance. We believe this ambition was achieved, but if people have taken any offense, we are, of course, really sorry.”

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The International Olympic Committee later issued a statement: “The IOC has taken note of and welcomes the clarification given by the Paris 2024 Organising Committee regarding the Opening Ceremony.

In the daily press briefing, the Organising Committee said that there was never any intention to show disrespect towards any religious group or belief.

“They reiterated that their intention with the Opening Ceremony was always to celebrate community and tolerance. The Organising Committee also said that if anyone was offended by certain scenes, this was completely unintentional, and they were sorry.”

Sunday’s apology came after thousands of social media users threatened to boycott the Paris Games because of the opening ceremony.

Source: LIB