The Paris Olympics 2024 opening ceremony for the 33rd Olympic Games was held on Friday. The capital of the country was turned into a massive amphitheater, while the famous Seine River served as a path for the athletes’ parade. The ceremony started with a six-kilometer-long ‘Parade of Nations’. Athletes from 205 countries and one refugee team sailed down the Seine in boats despite severe rain.
There were several superstars present at the ceremony. American pop superstar Lady Gaga, performed at the event. France’s World Cup winner Zinedine Zidane in the final torch relay late in the ceremony handed off the torch to Rafael Nadal. Then on a boat along the Seine, Nadal handed the torch to former tennis player Serena Williams. The multinational event is happening in Zizou’s country. Nadal is currently participating in the Olympics, in the final year of his career.
The event turned out to be “biggest in the Paris Olympics Games history,” with more than 300,000 people watching on the banks of the Seine and billions tuned in on television. However, it faced severe backlash while conducting some events in the ceremony. The fans and other stars were not impressed with some of the performances.
Twitter goes insane after Paris Olympics opening ceremony
Why did some stars criticise the event? Some of the acts at the ceremony, such as the recreation of Jesus Christ’s ‘The Last Supper’, the beheading of Mary Antoinette, and Philippe Katerine’s depiction of Dionosys, the God of Wine, sparked a massive social media backlash, with netizens calling the ceremony “disrespectful” and “absolute garbage.” Famous journalist Velina Tchakarova was shocked by such performances and called out for being disrespectful towards other athletes.
Alan Wilkins described the event as the “worst ever” opening ceremony. Some people stated that the ideas behind the performances were good, but the execution was poor. French singer and actor Philippe Katerine’s odd performance, in which he was seen reclining on a big fruit dish, semi-naked with blue pain and gold dust on his body, drew much criticism.
