Olympic washout: Games fights rain as Christians slam opening ceremony

The Paris Olympic weather nightmare continued today as the games were hit by a new rain bomb on the first day of medal events as a Catholic Bishop slammed the opening ceremony for making a ‘gross mockery’ of Christianity.

Top tennis stars including Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz had their games held up as many matches were washed out and delayed.

The men’s street skateboarding competition was postponed and rescheduled for Monday because of a new deluge.

The latest rainfall led to the reappearance of masses of brollies and rain ponchos and long lines outside Olympic stadia.

It comes as a top Catholic Bishop slammed last night’s opening ceremony and said Christians must ‘resist’ after one of the artistic tableaus appeared to play on Leonardo da Vinci’s masterpiece the Last Supper. 

Only two courts at Roland Garros were playable on Saturday morning as they had roofs and former Wimbledon champion Iga Swiatek was finally able to play her Romanian opponent on the Philippe-Chatrier court after the roof was closed.

She took the first set 6-2 in front of former Vogue’s Dame Anna Wintour and a relieved crowd who were able to ditch their umbrellas and rain macs after being soaked to the skin.

Other courts were covered in orange plastic sheeting to protect them against the unseasonal elements.

One fan Marc Hobes, 25, from Paris, said: ‘This is not typical weather. For a tennis fan like me, this is very bad luck and also for Paris.

‘We want to show off the Olympics to the world in one of the best cities, but the rain spoiled the opening ceremony and now the sport.

‘But I was at Wimbledon last month and the rain was there too. So it is not just Paris.’

Debbie Lyons, 42, from Wembley who was with her French partner Pierre, said: ‘We moan about the weather back at home and now the French might understand why we are miserable most summers.

‘Pierre and me are going to Nice tomorrow. The sun should be out there.’

The street skateboarding was due to begin today at La Concorde, an outdoor venue where thousands were due to enjoy the event. Along with skateboarding, BMX freestyle and 3×3 basketball events are due to be staged there.

But the grounds were waterlogged, and seats covered in pools of water.

And in the women’s cycling multiple competitors crashed at high speed on the capital’s rain-soaked streets during the time trial.

American rider Taylor Knibb suffered several collisions with the cobbles, with one crash so bad she was forced to swap bikes.

Team-mate and 2023 world champion Chloe Dygert also took spill, robbing her of the pole position as she went into the final phase of the 20-mile race around Paris.

The favourite banged her head and lost her glasses but still managed to get back on her bike.

But the tumble meant Britain’s Anna Henderson beat her and took the silver medal by less than a second.

But there is better news for Olympic organisers in the coming days with sunshine and temperatures in the 30’s to allow the summer event a short-sleeved audience.

Friday’s Opening Ceremony saw almost 8,000 athletes soaked as the heavens opened and forced some spectators to leave early due to the deluge.

But the ceremony had mixed reviews with some Christians accusing organisers of mocking their religion with a performance involving a table and a halo-wearing woman which they argued riffed on paintings of the Last Supper. 

With critics branding the four-hour show as the ‘worst ever’, viewers reported poor audio caused by the near-torrential rain and even joked online that organisers needed to ‘stop the boats’.

Hundreds of thousands of spectators watched 6,800 athletes covered in plastic ponchos attempted to keep spirits high as they travelled down the river Seine in a huge flotilla of 85 boats.

Performances from Lady Gaga and approximately 3,000 dancers, acrobats and actors were hard to hear over the sound of rain, with viewers slamming it as ‘the worst Olympic opening ceremony in memory’.

Gaffes with country names, the mounting of the Olympic flag and bizarre scenes which saw a headless Marie Antoinette singing peppered the display last night as sport began in earnest this morning. 

But among the various artistic tableaus, named after French values such as freedom, fraternity and equality, it was the last supper-style performance in ‘festivité’ – or party – scene which caused the most controversy.

Complete with models, dancers, fashion icons and drag queens from the host nation, the performance took place on a bridge over the capital’s river around a table, which also doubled as a catwalk.

At the centre was a woman in front of DJ equipment with a golden halo-style crown, surrounded by several drag queens and dozens of dancers and performers.

A fashion show which showcased clothing designed by some of France’s most promising young designers took centre stage, as those seated on either side performed slick choreography.

Among those present was Drag Race icon Nicky Doll, who has appeared on the French franchise, RuPaul‘s Drag Race UK vs The World and now hosts France’s own version.

Reacting to the event, Catholic Bishop Robert Barron, from the US, posted a video online and said: ‘I love the Olympics, so I turn on the opening ceremony of the Olympics. And what do I see now? It’s in Paris, France, a city I love, I spent three years as a doctoral student there.

‘I see this gross mockery of the last supper and I won’t describe it any further.

‘France felt evidently as it’s trying to put its best cultural foot forward, that the right thing to do is to mock this very central moment in Christianity where Jesus at his last supper gives his body and blood in anticipation of the cross.

‘It’s presented through this gross or flippant mockery. France which used to be called the oldest daughter of the church.’

He added: ‘France has sent Catholic visionaries all over the world. France whose culture and I mean the honouring of the individual, in human rights and of freedom is grounded very much in Christianity.

‘It [France] felt the right thing to do was to mock the Christian faith.

‘Now a question I would pose, and we all know the answer to it, would they ever have dared mock Islam in a similar way. Would they ever have dreamed mocking in this gross and public way, a scene from the Qu’ran. And as I say we all know the answer.

‘What’s interesting here is this deeply secularist, [post-modern society knows who its enemy is, they’re naming them, and we should believe them, because this is who they are.

‘But furthermore we Christians, Catholics, should not be sheepish. We should resist, we should make our voices heard.’ 

Other Christians including Elon Musk have slammed the Paris Olympics opening ceremony for an apparent parody of the Last Supper as technical hitches and rain-drenched performers meant only Canadian singer Celine Dion could save it.

Although also hampered by hard-to-hear music, many young people and fans of the popular TV show took to social media to praise the tableau, which aimed to echo the atmosphere of a nightclub and featured dancing and lip-syncing on the soaking-wet stage.

But others were less impressed, accusing organisers of creating a ‘woke‘ parody of the Last Supper – a painting by Leonardo da Vinci depicting Jesus’ last meal with his disciples.

Tesla and SpaceX owner Elon Musk, who has come under criticism for his conservative beliefs, including towards his own daughter, wrote on X – formerly Twitter – claimed the performance was ‘extremely disrespectful to Christians’.

He added: ‘Christianity has become toothless.’

Later in the show, the most bizarre moment of the night saw a giant platter bedecked in fake fruits and other foods – with a ‘smurf’ resting among them.

The man, dressed in a skintight blue bodysuit that left very little to the imagination, was dressed as the Greek God of wine, festivity and theatre, Dionysus.

He was later unveiled to be French actor and singer Phillippe Katerine.

Another moment from the four-hour bonanza which was not on viewers’ bingo cards was when several dozen headless Marie Antoinettes appeared in a riff on the nation’s history.

Images of the performer, who sang with her seemingly severed head in her lap, were recreated in all the windows of the historic building while a rock band performed outside. 

And it wasn’t just the performances during the ceremony which saw technical gaffes. As the long line of boats filled with athletes made its way down the Seine, an embarrassing moment saw South Korea labelled North Korea by the announcers.

As the South Korean delegation sailed down the Seine River in the French capital, they were introduced with the official name for North Korea: ‘Republique populaire democratique de Coree’ in French, then ‘Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’ in English.

‘We deeply apologise for the mistake that occurred when introducing the South Korean team during the broadcast of the opening ceremony,’ the IOC said in a post on its official Korean-language X account.

The error sparked displeased reactions in South Korea, a global cultural and technological powerhouse that is technically still at war with the nuclear-armed and impoverished North.

South Korea’s sports ministry said in a statement it ‘expresses regret’ over the ‘announcement during the opening ceremony of the 2024 Paris Olympics, where the South Korean delegation was introduced as the North Korean team’.

Second vice sports minister Jang Mi-ran, a 2008 Olympic weightlifting champion, has asked for a meeting with IOC chief Thomas Bach to discuss the matter, it added.

The sports ministry has also asked the foreign ministry to ‘deliver a strong protest to the French side’ over the issue, the statement said.

South Korea’s National Olympic Committee plans to meet with the Paris Olympics Organising Committee and the IOC to voice their protest, request measures to prevent a recurrence, and send an official letter of protest under the name of the head of its delegation, the sports ministry said.

North Korea was correctly introduced with the country’s official name.

Another embarrassing gaffe saw the Olympic flag raised upside down. 

The only saving grace came at the end of the ceremony with a stunning performance by Canadian Celine Dion.

It was her first live public performance since revealing she is living with stiff person syndrome (SPS), with a spectacular rendition from the Eiffel Tower at the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics.

The superstar closed the ceremony from the first stage of the French landmark, singing Edith Piaf’s L’Hymne A L’Amour.

The Canadian singer cancelled her Las Vegas residency due to health concerns in 2021, before revealing her SPS diagnosis in December 2022 and cancelling her Courage World Tour.

She has not performed in public since.

She appeared in the final moments of the Olympics pageantry dressed in a beaded silver gown with a high neckline and appeared emotional as she came to the climax of the song.

Social media users were critical of the ceremony, with one writing: ‘France is doing good but it’s getting nowhere near the 2012 London Olympics opening ceremony.’

Another used a picture of Rishi Sunak on a podium that reads: ‘Stop the boats’ to describe how they felt about the water-bound parade.

For the first time in history, the opening ceremony is being held outside of a closed stadium, instead Paris are hosting a never before seen water parade for the Olympics.

The open-air spectacle is taking place along a 6km stretch of the Seine River and includes a total of 160 boats, carrying 94 athletes each along the iconic river.

But fans on social media were unimpressed by France‘s attempt to switch up the ceremony, with one writing: ‘I’m sorry but this is the worst Olympic opening ceremony in memory. 

‘It’s an interesting idea bringing the athletes in on boats but it looks rubbish and misses the roar of the crowd. Sorry but not for me.’

Another said: ‘This opening ceremony would really benefit from Graham Norton’s commentary questioning what the hell is going on. Anyone else finding this just bizarre and hard to follow?’.

Gaming fans drew comparisons between the masked torch barer seen running around the city on rooftops and Arno, a character from the video game Assassin’s Creed.

The official Assassin’s Creed X account even posted a video of Arno jumping around in the game with the caption: ‘Keep an eye on Paris’ rooftops – Arno might just be watching from above.’

One X user wrote: ‘Can this get any worse! Avatar meets smurf remake’.

Meteorologists who predicted the unusual rainy July weather would be a ‘disaster’ for the outdoor ceremony appear to have been correct as the screen at the Trocadéro where thousands of spectators are gathered appeared to suffer a blackout as a result of the dreary weather.

Instead of crowds wearing shorts and t-shirts to soak up the Parisian sun, streets were lined with umbrellas and spectators – including celebrities – turning to ponchos to protect from the rain.

A viewer on social media joked: ‘If this rain keeps up by the time they get to Zimbabwe they’ll be able to sail the boat down the street!’.

‘Well this fancy outside idea went well didn’t it’, wrote another sarcastically.