At the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games, a painting reminiscent of the biblical episode of the Last Supper sparked fierce criticism. However, the director claims that he intended to depict something completely different.
Amid a generally well-received opening ceremony, one scene sparked more reservations, even outright criticism: entitled “Festivity,” it depicted a group of characters, including several drag queens, around a feast. It was during this sequence that the singer and actor Philippe Katerine appeared, summarily dressed. Spectators saw it as a representation of the Last Supper, Christ’s last meal. The French Bishops’ Conference deplored “scenes of derision and mockery of Christianity.”
A misunderstanding? Thomas Jolly assures us that he did not intend to represent a biblical scene. “It was not my inspiration,” admitted the director of the ceremony this Saturday to BFMTV. According to him, “the idea was to make a pagan festival linked to the gods of Olympus. Olympus… Olympism.” Philippe Katerine was therefore supposed to represent Dionysus, “God of the festival in Greek mythology. The god of wine who is one of the jewels of France. And the father of Sequana, the goddess who is linked to the river, the Seine.”
IOC apologizes
“You will never find in me a desire to mock and denigrate anyone,” insists Thomas Jolly. Faced with criticism, the IOC also apologized: “There was never any intention to disrespect any religious group whatsoever,” affirmed Anne Descamps, director of communications for Paris 2024. “If people felt offended, we are truly sorry.”
The painting “Festivity” also provoked reactions from political figures, both right and left. “I did not like the mockery of the Christian Last Supper,” wrote Jean-Luc Mélenchon in a blog post, while far-right MEP Marion Maréchal denounced on X a “drag queen parody of the Last Supper” thought up by “a left-wing minority ready for any provocation.”