Paris Olympics opening ceremony sparks controversy & apologies

The Organising Committee of the Paris Olympics stated that they did not intend to show disrespect to anyone during the opening ceremony of the Games on July 26.

The ceremony featured a scene with a provocative parody of Leonardo da Vinci's painting ‘The Last Supper,’ Caliber.Az reports, citing Anne Descamps, the organizing committee's communications director, as quoted by foreign media.

"We have spoken about this subject before. It was never our intention to disrespect social groups; on the contrary, we tried to emphasize and celebrate the diversity of society. We feel like we've achieved that. And if we offended anyone, we apologize."

Additionally, the event experienced several mishaps: the Olympic flag near the Eiffel Tower was hung upside down, and announcers at the stadium mistakenly introduced athletes from South Korea as representatives of the DPRK. Spectators began to leave the stands even before the start of the performance due to poor visibility, and those who stayed had to watch the event in the pouring rain.

As Caliber.Az has already reported, provocative statements were also made against Baku during the live broadcast of the opening ceremony on French TV channel France 2. Azerbaijan has already filed a complaint with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) regarding such remarks.