Paris Olympics 2024: Opening Ceremony Sparks Outrage, ‘Disrespectful, Garbage’

The Paris Olympics opening ceremony for the 33rd Olympic Games on Friday transformed the French capital into a grand amphitheater, with the iconic Seine River serving as a track for the athletes’ parade. The ceremony featured a six-kilometre-long ‘Parade of Nations,’ during which athletes from 205 countries and one refugee team sailed down the Seine on boats despite heavy rain. The event included performances by several artists, including American pop superstar Lady Gaga.

According to the event organizers, the ceremony was the “biggest in the Olympic Games history,” with over 300,000 people watching from the banks of the Seine and billions tuning in on television.

However, some acts at the ceremony, such as the recreation of Jesus Christ’s ‘The Last Supper,’ the beheading of Marie Antoinette, and Philippe Katerine’s depiction of Dionysus, the God of Wine, sparked significant controversy on social media. Netizens labeled the ceremony “disrespectful” and “absolute garbage.”

“I’m truly speechless. So disrespectful towards many athletes from other nations at the #OlympicGames,” wrote one X (formerly Twitter) user.

Another user commented: “They are literally mocking The Last Supper, and majority of France are followers of Christ.”

Cricket presenter Alan Wilkins criticized the event as the “worst ever” opening ceremony.

“Is this the worst-ever opening ceremony of an Olympic Games? Absolute garbage to deliver to a global audience,” Alan Wilkins wrote on X.

“I hate to say this but even the one at London Olympics was tons better than this,” another user remarked.

One more said, “The WORST period, so chaotic, messy, bland and boring. No passion at all, bunch of robots would have done better.”

Meanwhile, some users felt that while the ideas behind the acts were good, the execution was poor.

“Paris is a little too self-obsessed. I really think the idea is not bad at all, showing a bit about the host city, but it shouldn’t be the main event, which is the case here. At least from tomorrow, it’s all about the sports and the athletes. Hopefully,” a user wrote.

French singer and actor Philippe Katerine’s bizarre performance, in which he was seen lying on a giant fruit platter, semi-naked with blue paint and gold dust on his body, received significant backlash. Netizens felt that “viewer discretion” was necessary during the ceremony.

Notably, this is the third time Paris is hosting the Olympics, following the games in 1900 and 1924. India is represented by 117 athletes, including 47 women, in this sporting spectacle.