BBC viewers were left wondering whether performers at the Olympics closing ceremony lip-synced on Sunday as the competition was once again plagued by “horrible” sound problems.
When indie band Phoenix took to the big stage, spectators began to shout “beep” at their sound engineering as people were confused as to why the artists were allowed to perform in such poor conditions.
Bosses promised performances by world-famous acrobats, dancers and singers, including Billie Eilish, Tom Cruise and the Red Hot Chilli Peppers.
The Olympic Closing Ceremony followed the story of a series of “time-travelers” who discovered the remnants of Olympism and reconstructed the Olympic rings as part of an incredible two-hour ceremony.
Increasingly upset by the familiar audio issues surrounding the ending, fans flocked to X, formerly known as Twitter, sharing their frustration and some even demanding a firing.
BBC viewers were left wondering whether performers at the Olympics closing ceremony were lip-syncing on Sunday as the competition was again marred by “horrible” sound problems.
As indie band Phoenix took to the big stage, spectators began to scream at the beeping of their sound engineering as people became confused as to why the artists were allowed to perform in such poor conditions.
One of them wrote: “Why is the sound quality so bad? The same thing happened at the opening ceremony. I can barely hear anything.”
‘The sound engineering is pretty terrible.’
‘The pacing, camera work and sound are all so strange!’
“It’s a shame the bands sound is a bit muffled. They tried to play it louder but it was distorted so they kept it soft and muffled. I still enjoy it. Phoenix is great.”
“What are these sound problems? They dare to do this to Billie Eilish?”
Great Britain finished the Paris Olympics with 65 medals, the same number won at London 2012 and the nation’s second-highest tally on foreign soil.
They came in third place, behind the United States (126) and China (91).
But the British team won eight fewer gold medals than in Tokyo three years ago and fell 13 short of the 27 they won at Rio 2016.
Bosses have promised performances from world-famous acrobats, dancers and singers, with Billie Eilish, Tom Cruise and the Red Hot Chilli Peppers all set to make an appearance.
Increasingly upset by the ending’s familiar audio issues, fans flocked to X, formerly known as Twitter, sharing their frustration and some even demanding a firing.
A final tally of 14 golds, 22 silvers and 29 bronzes saw Britain drop to seventh in the medals table, its lowest position since finishing 10th at Athens 2004, and the third-best European nation behind hosts France and the Netherlands.
Traditional Olympic sports such as athletics, cycling and swimming returned medals, while rowing banished its Tokyo nightmare to win three golds in a strong race.
But newer sports such as skateboarding, taekwondo and trampolining also enjoyed success, while the British team won its first medals in sport climbing.
However, the British team has no time to rest: it has already begun planning for the 2028 Los Angeles Games, ensuring that Stanford University will be its exclusive preparation camp.
A star-studded spectacle will bring the two-week sporting extravaganza to a close on Sunday night.
And these audio issues are not the first to plague this year’s global competition, with thousands of social media users threatening to boycott the fledgling Paris Olympics after its opening ceremony was widely criticised in July.
Angry spectators flocked to X, where the hashtags #boycottOlympics and #boycottParis2024 trended over the course of the next day.
In particular, the appearance of a “naked blue man” in a scene resembling the Last Supper angered many viewers, especially Christians.
One wrote: ‘What a disgraceful opening to the 2024 Olympics #BoycottOlympics’.
Another said they “didn’t even care about the Olympics” but were now “boycotting them 100 percent.”
And these audio issues are not the first to occur at this year’s global competition, with thousands of social media users threatening to boycott the nascent Paris Olympics after its opening ceremony was widely criticised in July (pictured).
Angry viewers took to X, where #boycottOlympics and #boycottParis2024 trended over the course of the next day.
One viewer wrote: ‘What a disgraceful opening to the 2024 Olympics #BoycottOlympics’.
Dozens of X users joined the wave of comments: ‘The opening ceremony was a disgrace and a slap in the face to all Christians #boycottOlympics.
“Really? This is blasphemous and no one will mock God! #BoycottOlympics.
“Why would anyone push so hard to offend as many Christians as possible? It’s insane that this kind of ‘spectacle’ has even made it past the proposal stage. #BoycottOlympics.
‘Respect Jesus Christ and reject any mockery of Jesus’ Last Supper. Retweet if you support the #BoycottOlympics movement.
‘The spectacle was despicable, offensive and extremely vile. #BoycottOlympics #BoycottParis2024.
“Will this be the first Olympics that never happened? Who will be the first country brave enough to boycott them? Fingers crossed #BoycottOlympics.”
Dozens of X users joined in the comment stream, with one commenting: ‘The opening ceremony was a disgrace and a slap in the face to all Christians #boycottOlympics.’
Many were also upset by the subsequent performance of French heavy metal band Gojira (seen), who performed ‘Ah! Ça Ira’, a popular song during the French Revolution.
The band was joined by opera singer Marina Viotti, as well as a host of decapitated figures representing the murdered queen Marie Antoinette (pictured).
The Olympic flag was flown upside down in yet another glaring failure.
Although many questioned this segment of the ceremony as a mockery of the Last Supper, the official account of the Olympic Games in its 10th version suggested otherwise, labeling the “naked blue man” as an “interpretation of the Greek god Dionysus.”
Dionysus is the Greek god of fertility and has no relevance to the Last Supper.
French actor and singer Phillippe Katerine played the controversial role and later dismissed the criticism by telling BFM TV: “It wouldn’t be fun if there was no controversy. Wouldn’t it be boring if everyone agreed on this planet?”
However, the Catholic Church in France criticized the segment, with the French Bishops’ Conference issuing a statement saying: “This ceremony unfortunately included scenes of mockery and ridicule of Christianity, which we deeply deplore.”
Many were also upset by the subsequent performance of French heavy metal band Gojira, who performed “Ah! Ça Ira,” a popular song during the French Revolution.
The band was joined by opera singer Marina Viotti, as well as a host of decapitated figures representing the murdered Queen Marie Antoinette.
But the fierce, fiery aesthetic has angered Christians online, who argue that allowing the band to perform at the opening ceremony is encouraging Satanism.
Even controversial social media influencer Andrew Tate harshly criticised the opening ceremony for being satanic and accused the West of “worshipping the devil”.
“Satanists control the West and they show you that they worship the devil. It’s not a conspiracy theory. They show it to you literally. Are you blind?” he said.
Elon Musk, owner of Tesla and SpaceX, also chimed in to say the scenes were “extremely disrespectful towards Christians” and added: “Christianity has become toothless.”
The ceremony was also marred by torrential rain and spectators complained of poor audio, technical problems and the sight of thousands of athletes burying themselves under ponchos as they paraded down the River Seine in a series of boats.