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Paris Olympics games organisers on Sunday issued an apology after receiving backlash from the public, particularly Christian groups over the “inappropriate” depiction of a key “biblical scene” in its opening ceremony.
During the event, a group of drag artists performed an act, based on what critics said was the parody of the Last Supper, as depicted in Leonardo da Vinci’s famous 15th-century painting. The Catholic Church in France was among the critics who alleged that the act “mocked” Christianity.
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A US telecommunications company, C Spire, even announced that it was pulling off its advertisement from the games, citing the ceremony performance as offensive.
“Clearly there was never an intention to show disrespect to any religious group,” Paris 2024 spokeswoman Anne Descamps told reporters on Sunday. The event officials also denied the claims that the sequence was inspired by the ‘Last Supper’.
The performance showed a nearly naked man painted in blue, lying on a dinner table surrounded by fruits. The man presented a song for the ceremony, to which the surrounding drag queens danced.
According to the ceremony’s artistic director, Thomas Jolly, the scene was designed to reference pagan gods, aimed at celebrating community tolerance. The idea was to do a big pagan party linked to the gods of Olympus, the director said.
What is the Last Supper?
The ‘Last Supper’ is a famous event from Christian tradition and is a popular subject in Christian art. Vinci’s 15th century painting is among the most highlighted depictions of this event.
According to the Milan Museum, the event is the depiction of the ‘dinner’ between Christian religious figure Jesus Christ and his disciples. Vinci completed this artwork between 1494 and 1498 under the government of Ludovico il Moro.
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