Paris 2024 Opening Ceremony: c’etait catastrophique
The Paris 2024 Opening Ceremony missed the mark with lack of cohesion and elements that have prompted worldwide criticism.
The Paris 2024 PR Catastrophe.
I’m happy to be told I’m wrong but I think the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games was a bit of a damp squib. One could even go a step further and say it was catastrophic in PR terms. ‘Catastrophique’, as they say in France.
Of course, ‘damp’ was the operative word; the weather really didn’t help. But, while a relentless drizzle throughout Friday evening didn’t dampen the spirits of those who braved the elements, it was ‘elements’ of a different kind that grabbed headlines; namely some highly contentious elements of the ceremony itself.
Indeed, the backlash from the ceremony has been widespread. BBC pundits described it as ‘disjointed’, fans dubbed it the ‘worst in history’, and words like ‘unique’ and ‘weird’ are never good when bandied around in such a context. Even France’s oldest newspaper still in print, Le Figaro, dubbed it ‘just too much’ and said it ‘suffered from a lack of coherence’.
In particular, a scene in which drag queens seemingly parodied Leonardo da Vinci’s The Last Supper has been slammed the world over for mocking Christianity. From the Catholic Church and politicians in France to US House Speaker Mike Johnson and Tesla Founder Elon Musk, the criticism has been effusive; Musk tweeted that it is was ‘extremely disrespectful to Christians’. Piers Morgan waded in too (of course), saying, ‘A drag queen mockery of the Last Supper at the Olympics? Appalling decision.’
The ceremony’s artistic director Thomas Jolly has denied that the scene was inspired by The Last Supper. But a Jesus Christ figure, complete with halo, didn’t really allow for other interpretation. Whether or not it was intended as a parody or not, though, isn’t really the point.
France’s capital is famous for its panoply of cultures and creeds, and is a fitting setting for the diversity that sits at the heart of everything the Games stands for. The five intertwined rings represent the union of the five continents (Europe, the Americas, Africa, Asia and Oceania) as the world celebrates its lesser-known sporting heroes. Indeed, Jolly said in a statement on Sunday that ‘We wanted to include everyone, [it’s] as simple as that.’
In fairness to the Paris 2024 Organising Committee, it has deftly handled the comms crisis that has emerged, promptly responding with a heartfelt apology at any offence caused. An IOC official statement ‘reiterated that [the Committee’s] intention … was always to celebrate community and tolerance.’
But at what point did the OC run The Last Supper scene past the PR team? If it wasn’t, it should have been. I’m a firm advocate that ‘there’s no such thing as a bad idea’ when creative hats are on, but it surprises me that there were no objections when the team was going through the planning and scripting stages.
Because it was in poor taste, as was a depiction of the beheading of Marie Antoinette, and offending the church is no small matter. A few heads knocked together on the scene’s possible interpretations may well have avoided such a fallout. It highlights the importance of understanding your audience and seeking feedback on how messaging will be perceived.
In another bizarre part of the scene, a giant cloche was lifted to reveal French actor Philippe Katerine painted blue and lying on a bed of fruits and flowers. ‘A Smurf’s an odd choice,’ I hear you say and I wouldn’t blame you, albeit the Smurfs are Belgian, not French. That it was actually a portrayal of the Greek god Dionysus only served to spark further confusion and the outspoken actor has subsequently told French outlet BFM TV, ‘It wouldn’t be fun if there were no controversy.’
But I disagree. It’s perfectly possible for everyone concerned to have fun without offending anyone. Especially a group of people whose number is more than a quarter of the world’s population, with the world’s richest person among them. Not that it offended all 2.4 billion Christians, of course, but you get my point.
You only needed to watch the near delirium that ensued when France’s poster boy Antoine Dupont scored the second of his tries in the Rugby Sevens final, thus clinching the gold medal for the host nation against favourites Fiji, to see just how much fun all involved were having. (All apart from the Fijians, perhaps.)
And that, really, is the point. The opening ceremony might have been a PR catastrophe (or ‘une cata’), but nothing beats the sporting action that will unfold over the coming weeks. In the last 24 hours alone, fans of Team GB have been treated to Sir Andy Murray and doubles partner Dan Evans heroically fending off five match points to push through a tough encounter against their Japanese opponents, and the bravery of Adam Peaty in the pool. Burnout had threatened to derail the double Olympic champion’s entire swimming career but a fight back from depression and alcoholism saw him come within millimetres of a third consecutive swimming gold medal, a feat only achieved by arguably the greatest Olympian of all time; Michael Phelps.
As for the other Paris 2024 PR Catastrophe, a ‘deeply regrettable’ gaffe of the opening ceremony saw the South Korean athletes being announcing as North Korean. But it’s probably best to leave that for another time. As if the crisis team didn’t have enough on its plate.