PARIS (AP) — Paris Olympics organizers apologized to anybody who was offended by a tableau that evoked Leonardo da Vinci’s “The Final Supper” through the glamorous opening ceremony, however defended the idea behind it Sunday.
Da Vinci’s portray depicts the second when Jesus Christ declared that an apostle would betray him. The scene throughout Friday’s ceremony featured DJ and producer Barbara Butch — an LGBTQ+ icon — flanked by drag artists and dancers.
Spiritual conservatives from around the globe decried the section, with the French Catholic Church’s convention of bishops deploring “scenes of derision” that they stated made a mockery of Christianity — a sentiment echoed by Russian Overseas Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova. The Anglican Communion in Egypt expressed its “deep remorse” Sunday, saying the ceremony may trigger the IOC to “lose its distinctive sporting identification and its humanitarian message.”
The ceremony’s inventive director Thomas Jolly had distanced his scene from any “Final Supper” parallels after the ceremony, saying it was meant to rejoice range and pay tribute to feasting and French gastronomy. Paris 2024 spokesperson Anne Descamps was requested in regards to the outcry throughout an Worldwide Olympic Committee information convention on Sunday.
“Clearly there was by no means an intention to point out disrespect to any spiritual group. Quite the opposite, I believe (with) Thomas Jolly, we actually did attempt to rejoice group tolerance,” Descamps stated. “ the results of the polls that we shared, we imagine that this ambition was achieved. If individuals have taken any offense we’re, after all, actually, actually sorry.”
Jolly defined his intentions to The Related Press after the ceremony.
“My want isn’t to be subversive, nor to mock or to shock,” Jolly stated. “Most of all, I needed to ship a message of affection, a message of inclusion and under no circumstances to divide.”
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Related Press journalist Samy Magdy contributed reporting from Cairo.
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Comply with AP protection of the Olympics at
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