The organizers of the Paris Olympics have apologized to Christian groups for featuring a parody of Leonardo Da Vinci's "The Last Supper" in the opening ceremony.
The opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics on July 26 featured multiple performances, including one in which a diverse group of individuals, including drag queens, trans individuals and a nude singer, copied the biblical scene of the Last Supper as depicted by Da Vinci, with Jesus Christ at the center and the 12 apostles flanking Him. The portrayal was widely condemned.
The Catholic Church in France described the depiction as a grave insult and a mockery of Christianity. Archbishop of Malta Charles Scicluna, who also serves as a high-ranking member of the Vatican's main doctrinal office – the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith – expressed his disappointment over the parody and announced that his office had already expressed its grievances to France's ambassador to Malta.
"I would like to express my distress and great disappointment at the insult to us Christians during the opening ceremony … when a group of drag artists parodied the Last Supper of Jesus," the archbishop wrote on X. (Related: Thousands of applicants for Olympics-related jobs rejected due to terror links and security threats.)
Similarly, the Vatican's President of the Pontifical Academy for Life Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia noted that "the mockery of the Last Supper" at the Paris Olympics raises profound questions about respect for religious sentiments.
In response to the backlash, Paris Olympics spokesperson Anne Descamps apologized to the Catholic Church and other Christian groups at a news conference on July 28.
"Clearly, there was never an intention to show disrespect to any religious group. [The opening ceremony] tried to celebrate community tolerance," Descamps said on July 28. "We believe this ambition was achieved. If people have taken any offense, we are really sorry."
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) also addressed the controversy and welcomed the clarification from the Paris 2024 Organizing Committee.
"In the daily press briefing, the Organizing Committee said that there was never any intention to show disrespect towards any religious group or belief. They reiterated that their intention with the Opening Ceremony was always to celebrate community and tolerance," the statement read. The IOC added that the intention was not to offend anyone and that "they were sorry."
IOC apologized for another mistake during the Olympics — introducing South Korean athletes as athletes from North Korea
The organizers of the Olympic Games issued another formal apology after they mistakenly introduced South Korean athletes as athletes from North Korea.
Part of the opening ceremony is what is known as the "Parade of Nations," during which participating athletes march into the main Olympic stadium and are introduced to the world.
In this year's parade, athletes were first paraded by boat along the River Seine and then in the Jardins du Trocadero stadium. When it was the turn of the South Korean delegation to be introduced, they were mistakenly introduced as athletes from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the official name of North Korea, instead of the Republic of Korea.
This misidentification occurred despite the blue sign on the boat correctly displaying "Republic of Korea" and the athletes on the boat proudly waving South Korean flags.
In response to the incident, Jang Mi Ran, the second vice minister of South Korea’s Culture, Sports and Tourism Ministry, requested a meeting with IOC President Thomas Bach. The ministry also urged South Korea’s Foreign Ministry to file a strong government-level complaint with the French government. Additionally, South Korea’s Olympic committee has asked the organizers of the Paris Games to take steps to prevent similar mistakes in the future.
Thomas Bach personally called South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol to apologize for the incident. President Yoon expressed that the South Korean people were "very shocked and embarrassed" and requested that Bach apologize publicly via media and social media and take measures to prevent a recurrence of such errors. Bach assured President Yoon that he would take all necessary steps to avoid repeating the mistake.
IOC spokesperson Mark Adams described the error as "clearly deeply regrettable" and attributed it to an operational mistake. "We can only apologize, in an evening of so many moving parts, that this mistake was made," Adams responded to a question from a South Korean journalist during a news conference.
"We deeply apologize for the mistake that occurred when introducing the Korean team during the opening ceremony broadcast," the IOC posted on X in Korean.
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