The 2024 Paris Olympics Opening Ceremony on Friday, 26 July 2024, was mired in controversy with radical Christians accusing the International Olympic Committee (IOC) of hurting religious sentiments and depicting a blasphemous rendition of ‘The Last Supper’.
Radical Christians accused the IOC of displaying its version of ‘The Last Supper’ using drag queens, trans, and queer characters, and resorting to hyper-sexualization at the 2024 Paris Olympics Opening Ceremony.
Social media is flooded with comments from angry Christians, and US radio host Clint Russell stated:
“This is crazy. Opening your event by replacing Jesus and the disciples at The Last Supper with men in drag. There are 2.4 billion Christians on earth and apparently, the Olympics wanted to declare loudly to all of them, right out of the gate: Not Welcome.”
Another user named ‘The Patriot Voice’ wrote:
“The Paris Olympics have gone FULL BLOWN. SATANIC. Going so far as to mock the Last Supper of Christ & have a celebration of worship to Baal/Moloch. If this isn’t a sign of the times we are living in… Spiritual warfare FULLY manifesting in the flesh. This isn’t ‘satanic panic.’ This is the REAL DEAL.”
What irked the radical Christian community was the presence of drag queens posing behind a table reminiscent of Leonardo da Vinci’s depiction of ‘The Last Supper,’ where Jesus dined with his apostles.
The ceremony also included several controversial moments like the depiction of a “headless” Marie Antoinette and a scene suggesting a sexual encounter at France’s national library.
Philippe Katerine, a popular French singer and actor, performed “Nu” (Naked) as part of a depiction of Dionysus. His performance also received a lot of brickbats.
The French singer was wearing attire made of leaves and flowers, and many users compared his appearance to Smurf, a small blue comic character from the movie ‘The Smurf’.
IOC Clarifies, Event Not Based on ‘The Last Supper’
Contrary to claims made on social media, the IOC has clarified that the event at the 2024 Paris Olympics Opening Ceremony does not depict ‘The Last Supper’ but was an interpretation of the Greek God Dionysus.
On its X handle, the IOC said:
“The interpretation of the Greek God Dionysus makes us aware of the absurdity of violence between human beings.”
For the unversed, Dionysus is known as the ‘God of Wine’ and ecstasy in Greek pagan culture. He is also referred to as ‘Bacchus’ by the Romans and is considered the patron of theatre, and his festivals are always marked by dramatic performances.
Dionysus is also associated with vegetation and growth and the cycles of nature.
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