Organisers of the Paris Olympics 2024 apologised on Sunday for a performance during Friday’s opening ceremony that featured an apparent reenactment of Leonardo da Vinci’s “The Last Supper” amid criticism about the piece’s intent.
“Clearly there was never an intention to disrespect any religious group. The opening ceremony focused on inclusivity and celebrating community tolerance,” Anne Descamps, the Olympic 2024 spokesperson, said during the daily briefing of the IOC on Monday.
“We believe this ambition was achieved. If people have taken any offence we are really sorry,” she added.
Even though Blasphemy is legal in France, hurting the religious beliefs of billions of people around isn’t the way to go.
The opening ceremony was supposed to convey a beautiful message about how France has evolved over the years.
The festivity chapter of the opening ceremony was meant to celebrate humanity and inclusivity of France, but it took a blasphemous turn.
However, supporters of the tableau praised its message of inclusivity and tolerance.
The IOC has taken note of and welcomes the clarification given by the Paris 2024 Organising Committee regarding the Opening Ceremony. pic.twitter.com/kEB9zyw3Ue
— IOC MEDIA (@iocmedia) July 28, 2024
Criticism pour in
Monsignor Emmanuel Gobilliard, a delegate of the bishops of France for the Games, said some French athletes had had trouble sleeping because of the fallout from the controversy.
Archbishop Charles Scicluna, the highest-ranked 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”.
The Italian bishop’s 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”.
The daily Italian newspaper Avvenire affiliated with the Catholic church, said in an article, “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?”