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Paris Olympics Opening Ceremony Was About God of Wine, Not Son of God

2024 Paris Olympics Opening Ceremony's Thomas Jolly says a controversial moment had nothing to do with Da Vinci's "Last Supper" or Jesus.

Published Sun, 28 Jul 2024 17:14:10 -0500

by Ray Flook

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Personally, the 2024 Paris Olympics Opening Ceremony was everything we were hoping it would be and more. A wee bit long? Sure! But how can you argue with Lady Gaga, Celine Dion, and some amazingly wonderful visuals that embraced the host city's culture, history, and artistry? Well… apparently, a lot of folks are taking issue with one segment of the ceremony, in particular – but it turns out that they might be barking up the wrong crucifix. Set on a footbridge across the Seine, DJ, producer, and LGBTQ+ activist Barbara Butch was surrounded by other drag artists, performers, and dancers, creating a scene that many saw as a take on Leonardo da Vinci's "Last Supper" (depicting Jesus Christ's final time with his main followers where he would reveal that one of his apostles would betray him… and you know how things went from there). You can only imagine what the Christian community thought about the moment – actually, you don't have to imagine because it didn't take long for a lot of folks (like Republican Speaker of the House Mike Johnson – a supporter of Donald Trump) to lash out at the ceremony as being a mockery of Christianity. Except… it looks like they may have gotten it wrong.

Speaking with French news channel BFM-TV on Sunday and reported on by NBC's Today, Thomas Jolly, the opening ceremony's artistic director, defended the moment by explaining that the inspiration had nothing to do with Da Vinci and Jesus and everything to do with the Dionysus (aka Bacchus), the Greek God of wine-making, orchards and fruit, vegetation, fertility, festivity, insanity, ritual madness, religious ecstasy, and theatre (thank you, Wikipedia – would've missed a few of those). "There is Dionysus, who arrives on this table. He is there because he is the God of celebration in Greek mythology," Jolly explained. "The idea was to have a pagan celebration connected to the gods of Olympus. You will never find in me a desire to mock and denigrate anyone."

In fact, the official Twitter account for the 2024 Paris Olympics also noted that it was a nod to Dionysus with the caption, "The interpretation of the Greek God Dionysus makes us aware of the absurdity of violence between human beings." Speaking with AP shortly after Friday's ceremony, Jolly addressed what the overall intent was for the ceremony without diving into the specifics of the moment in question. "My wish isn't to be subversive, nor to mock or to shock," Jolly shared. "Most of all, I wanted to send a message of love, a message of inclusion and not at all to divide."

During Sunday's International Olympic Committee (IOC) news conference, 2024 Paris Olympics spokesperson Anne Descamps was asked about the backlash from Christians, echoing Jolly's sentiments on the matter. "Clearly, there was never an intention to show disrespect to any religious group. On the contrary, I think [with] Thomas Jolly, we really did try to celebrate community tolerance. Looking at the results of the polls that we shared, we believe that this ambition was achieved. If people have taken any offense we are, of course, really, really sorry," Descamps said.

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