After a formidable and unprecedented spectacle on the River Seine and throughout the French capital city’s most iconic sites, global applause was merited and received during the weekend.

There was, however, inevitable backlash, not just due to the bad weather which thinned crowds and wetted athletes but also with some controversial moments. 

Since the historic opening ceremony, several religious groups have voiced their displeasure regarding some aspects of the 'Last Supper’ tableau, among other performances of the inauguration which they deemed offensive.

The noise finally forced the hand of the International Olympic Committee on Sunday, as Paris 2024 organisers felt the need to tepidly apologise after an ardent defence of France’s right to freedom of expression. An official statement was addressed to anyone offended by said tableau, a depiction intended as a cultural homage, which featured DJ and producer Barbara Butch, an LGBTQ+ icon, alongside drag artists and dancers.

Asked on Saturday if countries who do not share France’s visions on inclusivity or sexual freedom might have asked not to participate in the ceremony or that it not be broadcast on television, as well as for an official response to the offended reactions from Catholics in Australia or Muslims in Morocco, organisers deflected any accusations of intention to push the envelope. Yet they acknowledged that their commitment to freedom of expression was unwavering.

“We imagined this ceremony to showcase our country’s values and principles, so we have a very committed message. We promised a magnificent and spectacular ceremony but also strong messages on sorority, on women… We wanted to really promote French women and love,” Paris 2024 President Tony Estanguet said. 

“The idea was to trigger a reflection, a message as strong as possible. We worked with the IOC on our guidelines, subject and the messages we wanted to deliver during the ceremony.”

The IOC has taken note of and welcomes the clarification given by the Paris 2024 Organising Committee regarding the Opening Ceremony. pic.twitter.com/kEB9zyw3Ue

— IOC MEDIA (@iocmedia) July 28, 2024

As religious conservatives piled on criticism on the tableau, the French Catholic Church among them with the conference of bishops alleging it made a mockery of Christianity, artistic director Thomas Jolly defended the representation.

“Quite frankly, I’m not sure what you are talking about with these reactions. Our idea was inclusion. Naturally, when you want to include everyone and not exclude everyone, questions are raised. Our subject was never to be impertinent or subversive. We wanted to talk about diversity. Diversity means being together. We wanted to include everyone, simple as that,” detailed Jolly.

Jolly had previously explained that the intention of the tableau was to celebrate diversity and honour French gastronomy and the joy of feasting, while other aspects of the ceremony were meant to promote essential values of a free democracy in times of rising worldwide authoritarianism.

Among others, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova aligned herself with the offended, as did the Anglican Communion in Egypt, expressing its “deep regret” and suggesting that the ceremony risked diminishing the International Olympic Committee’s distinctive sporting and humanitarian identity.

“In France, we have artistic freedom. We are lucky to live in a free country. There weren’t any specific militant messages we wanted to deliver. In France, we are a republic and we have the right to love whom we want, to not be worshipers… We have a lot of rights in France and that is what I wanted to convey. These are values that are important to us,” Jolly insisted.

On Sunday, Paris Communications Director Anne Descamps also addressed the controversy surrounding the segment. “Clearly there was never an intention to show disrespect to any religious group. On the contrary, I think with Thomas Jolly, we really did try to celebrate community tolerance,” she said.  

“Looking at the result of the polls that we shared, we believe that this ambition was achieved. If people have taken any offence we are, of course, really, really sorry.”

Among athletes, Mexican boxer Ryan Garcia, who has been suspended by the World Boxing Council for doping, went as far as to call for an Olympic boycott, labelling the inauguration "a farce".

Garcia tweeted insults for nearly an hour, criticising the drag queen's performance as “an attack against the Catholic religion" and expressing homophobic remarks aplenty.

The IOC’s Sunday statement did not walk back previous affirmations from organisers but did relay Descamps’ message that it was “sorry if anyone was offended by certain scenes”. Along with Jolly’s reasoning, perhaps Estanguet’s Saturday response served as the clearest institutional message regarding the controversy.

“Naturally we had to take into account the international community. Having said that, it’s the French ceremony for the French Games 2024, so we trusted our artistic director and we wanted to give an expression on our capital. We have freedom of expression in France and we wanted to protect it,” Estanguet concluded.