The Olympic Games (OG) have always been political games, and the opening ceremonies are a unique opportunity for the host country to send a message about itself to the world. From Berlin in 1936, through more recent examples like Beijing in 2008, London in 2012, Sochi in 2014, or the upcoming Paris 2024, host countries have used the opening stories of the OG to tell the world about their past and even more about their present. Due to this targeted, essentially political message, countries that wish to showcase their strength and vitality go to great lengths to secure the organization of the OG. They do not spare any expense, viewing it as an investment in their own image. This is why China organized the most expensive OG in history in Beijing in 2008, investing an unimaginable sum of 44 billion dollars in its immediate organization. It was a time of Chinese expansion on a global scale.
Russia’s ‘Jumping’ Over China
This is why the United Kingdom, aware that it cannot compete with China in terms of money, organized the OG in London in 2012 for ‘only’ 8.7 billion dollars, but with an opening ceremony that is still regarded as the most successful and humorous to this day. This is why Vladimir Putin decided to ‘jump’ over China at the Winter OG in Sochi (which is generally cheaper than the summer ones due to significantly fewer participants), investing as much as 51 billion dollars in the organization of the OG, making Sochi the most expensive Games in history. It was a time when China had already seriously overtaken Russia on the global stage, and Putin was deeply involved in the project of the Russian world, the imperial expansion of Russia into neighboring states. Even before the OG in Sochi was closed, Putin began the operation to annex Crimea. Aware that he could not compete financially with China or Russia, French President Emmanuel Macron aimed to outshine the United Kingdom at the OG in Paris – in artistic impression. To present something unprecedented in Paris. And that indeed happened.
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However, the main surprise was not the relocation of the opening ceremony from the stadium, for the first time in the history of the OG, to the Seine and the streets of Paris, as planned. The main surprise became the ‘innovative’ depiction of the famous da Vinci painting ‘The Last Supper’, in which Jesus and the apostles were portrayed by transgender, drag queen performers. Immediately, the owner of X (formerly Twitter) Elon Musk, Catholic priests in France, politicians, and public figures of a more conservative orientation around the world reacted, deeming the performance a mockery and an insult to two and a half billion Christians worldwide. On the other hand, the French president thanked the artistic director of the spectacle, Thomas Jolly, for his ‘creative genius in the grand spectacle’. The ‘creative genius’ Jolly explained that what he presented was not an innovative depiction of da Vinci’s ‘The Last Supper’, but rather pagan rituals, adding fuel to the fire… The story continues.
