The UK press dubbed last night’s disastrous opening ceremony as patchy, being an ‘insane cabaret of clichés’ and the Daily Mail slammed it as ‘La Farce’.
And Britain is not alone in that opinion, with many newspapers across the globe expressing similar sentiments.
Even the French admitted the ceremony hosted in their famous capital was ‘just too much’.
This could be seen as an understatement, with the four hour show featuring bizarre scenes which saw as headless Marie Antoinette singing and a ‘naked smurf’.
But the French president, who is beleaguered by political chaos after calling a last minute election earlier this summer, told participants afterwards to be ‘proud’ of their performance.
The New York Times scathingly called it a ‘bloated made-for-TV spectacle’, with the New York Post labelling it ‘boring, ill-conceived and choppy’.
Meanwhile, South Korean media noted the ‘impressive’ imagination of using the whole city as the backdrop but the event was overshadowed by the country’s team being misintroduced as North Korea.
The International Olympic Committee apologised this morning for the gaffe.
The Eiffel Tower featured a lights show towards the end of the four-hour show
‘The Paris Olympics 2024 opening ceremony was a boring, soaking-wet mess,’ declared the New York Post’s Johnny Olesksinski
A series of bizarre moments saw a singer dressed as a headless Marie Antoinette
French newspaper Le Monde wrote in a rave review that director Thomas Jolly ‘succeeded in his challenge of presenting an immersive show in a capital transformed into a gigantic stage’.
Right-leaning Le Figaro said the show was ‘great but some of it was just too much’.
It said a few parts were unnecessarily provocative images including an apparent recreation of the painting of The Last Supper of Jesus and his apostles in front of a fashion show.
Christians including Elon Musk slammed the opening ceremony for the last supper-style performance in ‘festivité’ – or party – scene.
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.
Some hit out at the organisers, accusing them of creating a ‘woke parody’.
‘Way to just insult 2.4 billion Christians around the world. Maybe I’m not artsy enough but all I see here is a mockery of Christianity.’
‘The Last Supper with Jesus and the 12 apostles and they seem to have recreated it very poorly with drag queens.’
Journalist and entrepreneur Carla Efstratiou took aim at a part of the ceremony which showed what appeared to be a nod to the iconic Leonardo da Vinci painting ‘The Last Supper’ but with people in drag costumes standing in for some positions.
A furious Ms Efstratiou said the controversial scene proved how it has become acceptable to mock Christianity – but other religions are strictly off-limits for parody.
The ceremony also prompted fury from many Australians, with some declaring it disrespected 2.4 billion Christians and was a ‘sign the West has fallen’
The Olympic cauldron is seen after being lit during the opening ceremony
Christians including Elon Musk slammed the opening ceremony for the last supper-style performance in ‘festivité’ – or party – scene
Leonardo da Vinci’s depiction of the last supper, with Jesus in the centre surrounded by his disciples
A performer painted blue and covered in flowers and fruit, depicting the Greek god Dionysus, sang in French. Some hit out at the organisers, accusing them of creating a ‘woke parody’
In the States, ‘Opening Ceremony Misses the Boat’ headlined the New York Times’s television review.
It wrote that the river parade ‘turned the ceremony into something bigger, more various and more intermittently entertaining.
But it also turned it into something more ordinary – just another bloated made-for-TV spectacle’.
The Washington Post was more glowing, noting that the organiser’s ‘bold thinking’ brought a shine back to an event that has seen its popularity wane in recent years.
The New York Post’s Johnny Oleksinski wrote: ‘Talk about miserables. The Paris Summer Olympic 2024 Opening Ceremony on Friday was so rough that the local dancers bungled the Can-Can.
‘The kick-off to the quadrennial athletic competition meant to promote worldwide unity was boring, ill-conceived and choppy.
‘The Paris Olympics 2024 opening ceremony was a boring, soaking-wet mess.’
South Korean media noted the ‘impressive’ imagination but CBS radio said while the incident of wrongly introducing them as North Koreans was no doubt an honest mistake, it was disappointing the Paris organisers failed at what should have been a very basic part of the event.
‘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.
‘Opening Ceremony Misses the Boat’ headlined the New York Times’s television review
North Korean athletes raise their country’s flag during the opening ceremony of the Olympics
High jumper Woo Sang-hyeok (right) waves the main Korean flag as the South Korean delegation rides a boat on the Seine River
Germany’s Frankfurter Allgemeine wrote: ‘As beautiful as it was mad’
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.
Germany’s Frankfurter Allgemeine wrote: ‘As beautiful as it was mad.
‘France revolutionised the opening ceremony…..by the end even the rain had been defeated.’
Tabloid Bild was bowled over by Celine Dion’s return to the stage after four years, defying illness to ‘sing just as in the best of times. She deserves a gold medal for this performance.’
In Italy, La Gazzetta dello Sport said the ceremony was ‘something unprecedented, even extraordinary. A great show or a long, tedious work, depending on your point of view and sensibility.’
La Repubblia was less impressed and dubbed it a ‘sunless spectacle’, however
Celine Dion was praised by viewers for saving a rain-soaked opening ceremony in her first public performance since being diagnosed with stiff person syndrome
The mainstream Italian newspaper Il Corriere della Sera likened the show to a contemporary art performance, noting that ‘some (spectators) were bored, others were amused, many found the spectacle disappointing’.
The left-leaning Italian daily La Repubblica said the ceremony overshadowed the athletes.
‘A lot of France, a lot of Paris, very little Olympics…. a mirror that the immortal Paris turned on herself and discovered that she was so much, too much and soaking wet’.
La Repubblica was less impressed and dubbed it a ‘sunless spectacle’, however.
Breaking from the crowd, India Today called the ceremony ‘truly sensational.’
‘France walked the talk after promising a never-seen-before Olympics opening ceremony.
Torrential rain in Paris marred the opening ceremony with many spectators seen wearing ponchos and holding umbrellas – with one paper calling it a ‘sunless spectacle’
Members of the Chinese delegation are seen during the opening ceremony in Paris
‘While there were naysayers of the ceremony, the closing act, which saw Paris honour legends, made up for the drawbacks.’
And China’s Xinhua state news agency only said the ceremony succeeded in showcasing France.
‘There were Can-Can girls, a homage to the reconstruction of Notre Dame and of course the French Revolution, with fireworks, heavy metal and singers who appeared to have lost a battle with the guillotine.
‘If there was a downside to the ceremony, it is that any event performed over such a long distance has to struggle with continuity, and the big difference between this ceremony and others is that the parade of athletes was mixed in with the performances.’
