Olympic Opening Ceremony, Revolution, and a Side of Blasphemy.

Blasphemy refers to an insult that shows contempt, disrespect or lack of reverence concerning a deity, an object considered sacred, or something considered inviolable.”

 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blasphemy

Over the last few days, people have asked me what happened at the opening ceremony of the Olympics this past weekend. More precisely, what was the deal with what appeared to be a live representation of The Last Supper scene by Leonardo DaVinci? The whole matter sparked my own curiosity as well and led me to do some research. I would like to share what I have found in my search for some answers.

During the hours-long opening ceremony, there were multiple shout-outs to The French Revolution. While these things were not the entire focus of the opening ceremony, they were spread throughout the different segments as the evening progressed. The French Revolution, a time of hostility towards Christianity, was woven through the message that connected different parts of the organization of the ceremony as a whole. Thomas Jolly, the one responsible for organizing this opening ceremony, said, “I wanted to send a message of love, a message of inclusion and not at all to divide.”¹ Thomas either has little knowledge of his nation’s history, or this was intentional. 

There was a scene from Les Misérables (which is set during The French Revolution), a heavy metal rendition of Ça Ira (a song of the revolutionaries)², and a caricature of a beheaded Marie Antoinette speaking from her severed head, which led up to the blasphemous portrayal of DaVinci’s Last Supper. I find myself having trouble seeing where the inclusivity and unifying were expressed in reminding the world of their revolution and rebellion against Christianity and its members. 

Then came the portion of the ceremony that turned to the fashion show, which formed a likeness of the image of The Last Supper. Even if this resemblance of the famous art piece lasted for only a few minutes before Philippe Katerine was rolled out on a platter, the point is that this offensive mockery was made, a blasphemous representation of something that is held as sacred to us as Catholics – The Last Supper when Christ established the Eucharist. I have a hard time seeing that they had no idea they would be taking a shot at The Last Supper when the theme of revolution (which was intolerable to Christians) was already referenced in several segments that led up to it.

Things became stranger when a blue-painted, lightly clad performer emerged from a lifesized serving tray as the Greek idol Dionysus. Philipe Katerine, as the blue-painted pagan idol, broke into his latest song, Nu, whose lyrics I won’t repeat here. Basically, its message is that we ought to live freely like animals because then there would not be things like war, wealth and poverty, or judgment of one’s appearance or actions. If one follows the theme of The French Revolution that preceded that segment, it could be seen as another jab at Christianity since we believe that we are much higher than animals. Animals live simply by their desires and appetites. We are human beings, made in the image and likeness of God. We have an intellect and a will that we are given so that our desires do not rule our lives as they do with animals.

Some people claim that Christians are reading into what was supposed to be a depiction of Dionysus and that no offense should be taken. Yet Philippe Katerine (the blue guy from the platter) admits that he knew there was controversy when quoted saying, ”It wouldn’t be fun if there were no controversy. Wouldn’t it be boring if everyone agreed on this planet?” he told BFM TV a day after the show.³ Yet Thomas Jolly is quoted saying, “My wish isn’t to be subversive, nor to mock or to shock.”⁴ I suppose I would like to know what Philippe considered controversial. Was it his depiction of a Greek pagan idol? His song? Or, was it something to do with the controversy of what much of the world saw in the portrayal of DaVinci’s Last Supper?

People can deny that it mocked The Last Supper and think Christians are imagining what they saw. I, however, know what I saw, as do countless other people around the globe. In addition to finding it offensive, I was also saddened that the people involved thought this was a way to show love, inclusion, and unity. Though I am no history scholar, thinking of The French Revolution and its link to animosity towards the Church, towards Christians, and the dechristianization of France in no way conjures up feelings of being part of something loving and unifying.

1. https://apnews.com/article/olympics-2024-opening-ceremony-audacious-analysis-49f9885ff2b95b9b7ccc51ca195e84e1 ↩︎
2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ça_Ira ↩︎
3. https://www.reuters.com/sports/olympics/paris-ceremony-last-supper-parody-sparks-controversy-2024-07-27/ ↩︎
4. https://www.forbes.com/sites/maryroeloffs/2024/07/28/olympics-organizers-apologize-after-drag-queen-last-supper-slammed-by-conservatives/ ↩︎