As a guest on BFMTV's Le live Week-end program, Thomas Jolly, the artistic director of the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics, and costume director Daphne Bürki commented on the controversial opening.
After the presenter stated that the opening ceremony was generally received "very well" by the public, but the scene in which the "Last Supper" painting was reenacted caused a reaction, Jolly stated that the source of inspiration for the controversial performance was not Leonardo da Vinci's painting "The Last Supper", which is about Jesus Christ's meal with his disciples.
Jolly claimed that the controversial reenactment scene was not about Jesus Christ, but about Dionysus, the god of wine in Greek mythology.
Jolly said, "At first there is Dionysus coming to the table. Why Dionysus? Because Dionisos is the god of celebrations and wine in Greek mythology and the father of Sequana, the goddess of the Seine. The idea here is a big pagan festival connected with the gods of Olympus."
Jolly said that his work was "not based on ridicule" and argued that his aim was to make a "constructive and conciliatory" opening ceremony.
BACKLASH OVER DISRESPECT TO JESUS
At the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games hosted by France, the performance of a "drag queen" (a man wearing women's clothes and make-up), the depiction of the "Last Supper" painting about Jesus Christ, and disrespect for religious beliefs drew reaction.
In a statement made on the X account of the Catholic Church of France, it was stated, "Unfortunately, this ceremony included scenes that mocked Christianity, and we deeply regret this situation."
The Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) stated that what happened at the opening ceremony of the 2024 Paris Olympics demonstrated absolute ignorance of the concepts of freedom and human dignity.
