Paris Olympics organisers have issued an apology for a tableau during the opening ceremony that resembled Leonardo da Vinci’s The Last Supper. The scene featured DJ and producer Barbara Butch, an LGBTQ+ icon, alongside drag artists and dancers. The ceremony artistic director, Thomas Jolly, who is LGBTQ, intended to depict a “pagan celebration” that represented all.
Religious conservatives worldwide criticised the segment. The French Catholic Church’s conference of bishops condemned the “scenes of derision,” echoed by Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova. The Anglican Communion in Egypt also expressed “deep regret,” fearing it could damage the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) identity and message.
Thomas Jolly, the ceremony’s queer artistic director, clarified that the scene was meant to celebrate diversity and French gastronomy, not to mock Christianity. “It’s not my inspiration and that should be pretty obvious. There’s Dionysus arriving on a table. Why is he there? First and foremost because he is the god of celebration in Greek mythology and the tableau is called ‘Festivity’,” explained Jolly. “He is also the god of wine, which is also one of the jewels of France, and the father of Séquana, the goddess of the river Seine,” he continued. “The idea was to depict a big pagan celebration, linked to the gods of Olympus, and thus the Olympics.”
“You will never find in me, or in my work, a desire to mock or denigrate anyone. My aim was to create a ceremony that heals and a ceremony that reconciles, but also a ceremony that reaffirms the values which are those of our Republic of Liberty, Equality, Fraternity, and absolutely not to mock anyone.
“How do you write a show in which everybody, at one point, feels represented and a part this bigger thing, this bigger ‘us’? For an artist, it is a beautiful responsibility to have,” Jolly said. “It’s ambitious but also complex because one has to broaden one’s own imagery, one’s own outlook and include everyone, understand everyone so that no one feels left behind,” he added.
Paris 2024 spokesperson Anne Descamps emphasised that there was no intention to disrespect any religious group. “If people have taken any offence we are, of course, really, really sorry,” she said during an IOC news conference.
The International Olympic Committee acknowledged the Paris 2024 organisers’ comments, saying in a statement that their intention was to celebrate community and tolerance.
Tony Estanguet, President of Paris 2024, described the decision to entrust the artistic direction of the ceremonies to Thomas Jolly as bold but aligned with their vision after the choice was made in 2022.
