Games organisers sorry for ‘Last Supper’ drag show at opening ceremony
By Rob Harris
Paris: Olympic organisers have apologised to the Catholic Church and other Christian groups who expressed anger at scene during the opening ceremony that parodied Leonardo Da Vinci’s “The Last Supper” painting.
The tableau resembled the biblical scene of Jesus Christ and his 12 apostles sharing a last meal before crucifixion, but with a group of drag queens, a transgender model and a near-naked singer made up as the Greek god of wine Dionysus. It was set to music by lesbian activist DJ Barbara Butch.
The controversy went viral online within minutes, with French bishops among those criticising the segment and calling it a “mockery of Christianity”.
“Clearly there was never an intention to show disrespect to any religious group,” Paris 2024 spokeswoman Anne Descamps told a press conference.
“[The opening ceremony] tried to celebrate community tolerance. We believe this ambition was achieved. If people have taken any offence, we are really sorry.”
France, while proud of its rich Catholic heritage, also has a long tradition of secularism and anti-clericalism. Blasphemy is not only legal, but also considered by many as an essential pillar of freedom of speech in a democratic society.
Paris’s drag queens made a succession of appearances throughout the ceremony in a nod to the history of a country that has produced such plays as La Cage Aux Folles – which went on to become the first Broadway hit featuring male homosexuality in 1983.
Organisers had worked with the International Olympic Committee on the topics they wanted to reflect in the show – including promoting LGBT and women’s rights.
Wendy Francis, national director of politics for the Australian Christian Lobby, said the Games had “disgracefully besmirched” the last supper with “sexualised men pretending to be women parodying it”.
“Christians participating in the Games must feel absolutely betrayed by this crude display, ridiculing the greatest event in history – the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ in Holy Communion, or the Lord’s Supper,” she said.
“France has betrayed its predominantly Catholic nation. Western culture is doomed, having lost its foundation and its moral compass.”
An interpretation of the Greek God Dionysus has annoyed some observers of the opening ceremony.Credit: Twitter
Former Wallaby Israel Folau also took aim at organisers, saying the fact they were “openly mocking Jesus shows you the power that’s in his name”.
Folau, who took Rugby Australia to court in 2019 over his controversial sacking for writing anti-gay posts on social media, used Instagram on Saturday night to pan the performance.
“The devil knows it very well and doesn’t want you to know the truth. Jesus said he is the way the truth and the life. There isn’t any other way.”
The ceremony’s artistic director, Thomas Jolly denied taking inspiration from the Last Supper, saying his idea was to do “a big pagan party linked to the gods of Olympus”.
“You’ll never find in my work any desire to mock or denigrate anyone,” Jolly told the BFM channel. “I wanted a ceremony that brings people together, that reconciles, but also a ceremony that affirms our Republican values of liberty, equality and fraternity.”
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