The opening ceremony of the 2024 Paris Olympics has drawn significant backlash in Pakistan for its depiction of Leonardo da Vinci's painting "The Last Supper" with a "drag queen" performance, which many Christians view as disrespectful to religious beliefs.
The president bishop of the Anglican Church of Pakistan expressed his disapproval, stating on his X account: "It was much to our horror how the prestigious event soon became a display of disdain and mockery against 2,000 years of Christian narrative, history and sacred scripture. The flaunting of godlessness and the violation of Christian sentiment was not only highly objectionable but also unnecessary in light of the heritage of sports, endurance and the striving for victory.”
The bishop said that Pakistan’s Christians “are no exception in our grief at the violation and mockery against Da Vinci’s Last Supper, Christian family values and the disregard for the faith of many athletes.
“Europe, today, stands on the shoulders of a sacred art, cathedrals and missionaries who were dismissed and canceled in one disappointing opening ceremony- in fact we all were. May we never take this freedom of speech and expression so lightly that it tramples the sentiments of believers and faithful worshipers by consistently re-colouring and redefine the values at the heart of human life, hope and redemption,” he stated.
For religious and non religious lovers of sports around the world the Olympic Games are a much loved experience which more than two generations of viewers have meant an increased audience owing to televisation. Over the years we have celebrated the acts of worship with Christians…
— Bishop Azad Marshall (@BishopAzadM) July 29, 2024
Christian historian and archeologist Wajid Bhatti in a Facebook post also criticized the performance.
“We strongly condemn the disrespectful acts at the Paris #Olympics2024 Opening Ceremony. Mocking the Last Supper has deeply hurt Christians worldwide. The Olympics should promote peace and unity, but the 2024 event has failed in this regard,” he stated.
Criticising the games organisers, Christian rights activist Samuel Emmanuel wrote on Facebook: “Had it been any other religion there would be absolute chaos. They decided to mock the only one who is truly worthy and sacred. It is ironic how the very human rights they employ to mock Christ are made possible by Christ and the Christian worldview.”
“While we pray for these fallen humans so that they may be saved and not perish at the same time we strongly condemn this vile blasphemy of the King of Kings. The time for toothless Christianity is over, it is either Christ or Chaos we simply do not have any other option. All other ideologies are the same, they all mock Christ by denying most attested historical facts about him and their token condemnations are nothing more than an act of deceptive sincerity,” he added.
The incident has sparked widespread debate about respect for religious beliefs and artistic expression at major international events like the Olympics.
Egypt’s Al-Azhar University, the highest seat of Sunni Muslim learning, released a statement saying the scenes “depict Jesus Christ in an offensive manner, disrespecting his honorable person and the high status of prophecy in a reckless barbaric way that does not respect the feelings of believers in religions and high human morals and values.”
Meanwhile, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) issued on Sunday a formal apology following complaints about the incident.
"Clearly there was never intention to show disrespect to any religious group. On the contrary, we intended to show tolerance and community. If people have taken any offence then we are sorry,” Paris 2024 spokesperson Anne Descamps told a press conference.
The choreographer of the opening ceremony, Thomas Jolly has denied taking inspiration from the Last Supper in his nearly four-hour production.
"The idea was to do a big pagan party linked to the gods of Olympus," Jolly told the BFM channel on Sunday. "You'll never find in my work any desire to mock or denigrate anyone. I wanted a ceremony that brings people together, that reconciles, but also a ceremony that affirms our Republican values of liberty, equality and fraternity," he added.
