Recently, the government of Slovakia announced that it would be boycotting the closing ceremony of the 2024 Paris Olympics after the opening ceremony, which they described as an “insult” to Christianity. Deputy Prime Minister Tomas Taraba of the leftist-populist government in Slovakia further blasted the display of “degenerate decadence” at the controversial opening ceremony.
Subsequently, Taraba stated that he would cancel his trip to France, where he would attend the closing ceremony on behalf of his nation. Many believe one of the performances, in particular, was an overt mockery of “The Last Supper,” a critical moment in Christianity in which Jesus shared his final meal with the apostles. The Deputy Prime Minister has been covering specific duties in the wake of the failed assassination attempt against Prime Minister Robert Fico in May.
According to a translation of the announcement Taraba made on Facebook, “The organizers of the Olympics in Paris, who prepared the abomination for the world the presentation of the piny LGBT ideology and an insult to the symbols of Christianity, sa today “they apologized to the Christians on to the whole world” for insults that they caused.”
The statement added that Taraba previously planned to attend the closing ceremony, but in light of the “repulsive” “degenerate decadence” that the Paris Olympics will be forever remember for, he has decided to cancel his plans. “I was supposed to represent Slovakia at the closing ceremony, but this Olympics will be forever written as a repulsive symbol degenerate decadence that abused the beauty of sport and made of it progressive political theater. For that, I decided I will not participate in the ceremony.”
Amid the global backlash, the Olympics reportedly removed the opening ceremony from its YouTube page. The Slovak Deputy Prime Minister took to X, further criticizing the Olympics. “The International Olympic Committee is deleting the disgraceful opening ceremony from the Internet. The insults to Christianity and the presented decadence have reached such a level that they have offended the whole normal world, which understands the difference between culture and garbage,” he wrote.
The Christian Tribune previously reported on comments from Thomas Jolly, the artistic director of the 2024 Olympics. “Above all, I want this ceremony to include everyone. We must all celebrate this diversity.” He said, “I was overwhelmed at first. I wondered how I could create a show where everyone can feel represented as part of this great union. This responsibility was ambitious, complex, but magnificent for an artist.”
Jolly continued explaining his motivations, “When we watch ‘Emily in Paris’ or ‘Amélie Poulain,’ we know it’s not quite the real Paris. We’re going to play with all those cliches, but we’re also going to challenge them. Paris is also a vibrant youth. Different cultures rubbing shoulders in the streets. I’ll be fired if I tell you anything. All I can tell you is that it will be very meaningful for the artists that will perform.”
The French director later clarified that “The Last Supper” was not his “inspiration,” where he was supposedly inspired by a pagan work of art that had not connection to Christianity. “I think it was quite clear, there is Dionysus who arrives on this table. He is there, why? Because he is the god of the festival… of wine, and father of Sequana, the goddess connected to the river.”
Watch ESPN personality Pat McAfee slam the Paris Olympics below:
Featured image credit: Kiwiev, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Slovak_flag_and_European_Union_flag_together.JPG
