Viewers of the Paris Olympics Opening Ceremony were left bewildered this evening as a naked blue man sang in French while lying on a giant fruit platter.
The bizarre performance was met with an outpouring of jokes and laughter on social media with users comparing him to a Papa Smurf, an Avatar and Iggle Piggle from children’s TV show In The Night Garden.
The man behind the blue paint and glitter is French actor and singer Phillippe Katerine dressed as Dionysus, the Greek god of wine, festivity and theatre.
French people on X, formerly Twitter, seem to view Phillippe as a national treasure and were delighted to see him introduced to the wider world in this peculiar way, dubbing it the result of ‘the French genius’.
One wrote: ‘1 billion human beings who discover Phillippe Katerine in this way, that’s my France‘.
Viewers of the Paris Olympics Opening Ceremony were left bewildered this evening as a naked blue man sang in French while lying on a giant fruit platter
The man behind the blue paint and glitter is French actor and singer Phillippe Katerine
The 55-year-old’s songs are popular with French people, with one writing on X ‘welcome to every millennial French house party post midnight’.
Some of his popular songs include ‘Mon cœur balance’, ‘Je vous emmerde’, and ‘Louxor j’adore’.
He began his singing career in 1991, producing music infused with bossa nova accents and humour. He later branched out into other genres such as rock and electronic.
In 2010, Phillippe gained popularity as an actor by lending his features to Boris Vian in the biopic Gainsbourg, A Heroic Life, from Joann Sfar.
The following year, he starred in the offbeat comedy I am a No Man’s Land and in 2015, he played head of state in the comedy Gaz de France.
Phillippe was dressed as Dionysus, the Greek god of wine, festivity and theatre
French people seem to view Phillippe as a national treasure and were delighted to see him introduced to the wider world
He began his singing career in 1991, producing music infused with bossa nova accents and humour
Some French people were not as approving of the display, as one simply wrote: ‘This is not France.’
Explaining the performance on X, the official Olympic Games account said: ‘The interpretation of the Greek God Dionysus makes us aware of the absurdity of violence between human beings.’
Phillippe was introduced by a giant cloche being lifted to reveal him lying on a platter of fruit before beginning his performance.
The 55-year-old’s songs are popular with French people, with one writing on X ‘welcome to every millennial French house party post midnight’
Some of his popular songs include ‘Mon cœur balance’, ‘Je vous emmerde’, and ‘Louxor j’adore’
Those across the world who are not familiar with Phillippe expressed their shock, delight and horror.
One wrote: ‘If I dream about a blue naked man chasing me today singing in French… you know why.’
Another joked: ‘Can this get any worse! Avatar meets smurf remake.’
