The opening ceremony of the quadrennial sporting event was held on Friday, July 26, and for the first time was organised on the waters of Paris instead of inside a stadium.
While fans were thrilled by so many musical performances and dance acts, the ceremony attracted controversy over a display that was interpreted to be a mockery of Christians.
In one of the performances, a man playing the Greek god Dionysus was at a table with drag queens, in what looked like a recreation of Leonardo da Vinci's The Last Supper painting.
Uproar against mocking of Christianity at Olympics opening ceremony
The painting, which depicts the final meal of Jesus with his apostles before the crucifixion, is a sacred memory held by Christians.
The Catholic Church in France condemned the opening ceremony of the Olympics and described it as “scenes of derision and mockery of Christianity.”
The Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, Mike Johnson, also added in a social media post: “Last night’s mockery of the Last Supper was shocking and insulting to Christian people around the world who watched the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games.
“The war on our faith and traditional values knows no bounds today. But we know that truth and virtue will always prevail.”
Meanwhile, the organiser of the opening ceremony Anne Deschamps has rendered an apology over religious depictions.
“Clearly there was never an intention to show disrespect to any religious group. On the contrary, I think Thomas Jolly did try to intend to celebrate community tolerance. We believe this ambition was achieved, if people have taken any offence, we of course are really sorry,” she said at a press conference on Sunday.