The organizers of the Paris Olympics issued a brief apology on Sunday after coming under heavy criticism from religious groups and conservative politicians for including a bawdy scene in Friday night’s Opening Ceremony that resembled Leonardo da Vinci’s “The Last Supper.” The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of France had decried it as a “mockery.”
“There was never an intention to show disrespect to a religious group,” a Paris 2024 spokeswoman said. “If people have taken any offense, we are, of course, really sorry.”