Thousands of social media users have threatened to boycott the nascent Paris Olympics after their opening ceremony was widely criticised on Friday.
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.”
Thousands of social media users have threatened to boycott the nascent Paris Olympics after its opening ceremony was widely criticised and the phrase #boycottOlympics trended on X. One disconcerting aspect was the involvement of a “naked blue man” (pictured)
His appearance in a scene resembling the Last Supper infuriated many viewers, especially Christians.
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.
One of the most significant failures was that South Korea was wrongly announced as North Korea before the Olympic flag was raised upside down.
But a defiant Emmanuel Macron continued to tell organisers: “Bravo, you made France shine.”
The opening ceremony ended, however, in an undeniable blaze of glory with a spectacular light show around the Eiffel Tower.
Celine Dion was praised by spectators for salvaging a rain-soaked opening ceremony in her first public performance since being diagnosed with stiff-person syndrome.
When President Macron addressed organisers after the ceremony, which he attended with his wife Brigitte, he appeared to brush off criticism of the unique ceremony, which took place entirely outdoors on a trip down the Seine.
“Bravo to all the artists, organisers, police officers, administrators, ministers, volunteers. From the Minister of the Interior to all the artists, a big thank you and feel very proud, you have made France shine. Bravo!” he told those present.
His words were met with cheers and applause after a difficult night for many of the thousands of artists, dancers and singers who took part in the four-hour procession.
The opening ceremony ended in an undeniable blaze of glory with a performance by Canadian singer Céline Dion from a spectacularly illuminated Eiffel Tower.
