Janice R. Andrews
The opening ceremony of the Paris Summer Olympics took place on Friday, marking a first for the games as it was not conducted inside a stadium. Millions of people worldwide listened in, while thousands of spectators watched from the banks of the Seine. The wedding had a lot of style and heart, but it also had some bizarre moments that confused and delighted onlookers. These are a few of the more bizarre moments from the inaugural event.
A Person in Masks Holds the Torch
A pre-recorded film featuring French soccer hero Zinedine Zidane carrying the iconic Olympic torch through the streets of Paris and handing it off to a group of kids opened the ceremony. Not long later, the children’s torch was stolen by a person wearing a mask. The broadcast switched back and forth to show this enigmatic figure leaping, climbing, and running across the city while the ceremony went on.
The person in the mask had a white hood, a black mask that resembled a fencing mask, and dark leggings and jacket. The torchbearer was being compared by viewers to an Assassin’s Creed figure, to the point that more than 21,000 postings about the game were trending on social media. The game’s developer, Ubisoft, embraced the parallels by sharing a picture from one of the titles, which is set in France during the French Revolution, along with the message, “Welcome to Paris.”
While the identity of the enigmatic person remains a mystery, a number of spectators speculated throughout the opening ceremony. One individual said, “What are we even doing if Celine Dion isn’t revealed to be this masked torchbearer?” (The French-Canadian singer gave a touching farewell song to close the opening ceremony; it was her first public appearance since 2020.)
Marie Antoinette is executed by hanging Once more
Ahead of her beheading during the French Revolution, Queen Marie Antoinette attended the 2024 Games. The Queen’s body clutched her head in her hands while the French heavy-metal band Gojira performed; later, the camera shifted to many additional headless Marie Antoinettes.
A spectator wrote, “Gojira performing ON the castle where Marie Antoinette was beheaded might be the most metal moment to ever exist.”
Someone another said, “One thing about the French, they’re gonna remind you they guillotined tf out of Marie Antoinette in the name of liberation.”
Network TV Is Treating Us to an Olympic Meltdown
A pre-recorded movie of three persons dressed in colorful costumes wandering into an apartment and having a sexual scene was shown as part of the opening ceremony. Eventually, one of them slammed the door on the camera, blocking out the audience.
Many made jokes about how the seductive scenario reinforced negative preconceptions of France. “They literally just showed a ménage à trois in the Olympic opening ceremony and the NBC team had no idea how to react,” a user said.
Someone another said, “You guys from France don’t play.”During the #Paris2024 Opening Ceremony, the Eiffel Tower and ménage à trois were put up. After this, the cardboard box beds had no chance.”
Mona is Taken by Minions Lisa
A pre-recorded film that panned to the Louvre Museum during the opening ceremony revealed that the famous Mona Lisa artwork had been stolen. The guilty parties? Servants.
During the event, the Despicable Me minions made their stage debut, competing in a submarine in sports like boxing and archery that are included in the Summer Olympics. They once unintentionally wrecked their submersible and fell into the water; after some film editing, the Mona Lisa was visible floating in the Seine.
Social media was quickly utilised by viewers, with one user posing the question “WHY ARE THE MINIONS HERE?”
“The minions being canonically French is killing me,” said another commenter.
A Dionysus in Blue Dancing
A group of artists assembled for a fashion show-style performance during the opening ceremony. At one point, French singer and actor Philippe Katerine arrived on the runway on a big platter of fruit and flowers. His skin had been painted blue, and he was covered in flowers and leaves, symbolizing the Greek deity Dionysus. He then started to sing and dance in French.
The performance left some spectators a bit perplexed. A question was raised, “Was Dionysus blue?”
Someone more said, “The interpretation of the Greek God Dionysus makes us aware of the absurdity of violence between human beings.”
With its unique combination of the fantastical and the historical, the Paris 2024 Olympic Opening Ceremony gave spectators much to speak about.
