The executive director of the Olympic Games closing ceremony has admitted he had to rework the script for what felt like “the hundredth time” following strong reactions to the opening ceremony on the Seine.
Thierry Reboul reiterated his claim that the first spectacle was not an attempt at a parody of the Last Supper, but rather an allusion to a 17th-century Dutch painting of the Greek Olympian gods.
He acknowledged, however, that the angry reactions to the ceremony, including death threats against Reboul, the executive director of both ceremonies, and artistic director Thomas Jolly, had made him more cautious about possible misinterpretations of Sunday’s ceremony at the Stade de France.
When asked about the death threats, Reboul said he tries not to talk about them. “You have to live with it and report it, show that you won’t let yourself be pushed around or intimidated.”
“But they forced us to re-read the entire program for the umpteenth time to make sure there were no misinterpretations and we were not forced to say things we did not want to say,” he said.
The Paris 2024 organizing committee initially apologized to Catholics and other Christian groups for a scene at the opening event in which drag queens, a transgender model and a half-naked singer sat in a bowl of fruit.
The French bishops had deplored the “excesses and provocations” of the tableau, which they considered to be a “mockery of Christianity”, while Donald Trump called it a “disgrace”.
Only later did Jolly explain the inspiration. “I think it was pretty clear. There’s Dionysus coming to the table… why is he there? Because he’s the god of feasting, of wine, and the father of Sequana, the goddess of the Seine,” he said.
Following the stunning performances by Céline Dion and Lady Gaga two weeks ago, rumors have been circulating about who will perform at the closing ceremony. A stunt by Tom Cruise is expected, while performances by Taylor Swift, who is currently on a European tour, or Beyoncé are being discussed.
Reboul acknowledged that the part of the closing ceremony dedicated to presenting the next Games in 2028 in Los Angeles had been extended beyond the normal timeframe.
He said: “Normally it’s a 12-minute sequence to kick off future games, this one will be a little longer. Los Angeles has it all prepared there. But we’re producing it with them.”
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Reboul, who oversaw rehearsals at the Stade de France between 1am and 5am to avoid clashing with athletics competitions at the national stadium, said he was delighted by the “pride, love and passion” expressed from many quarters for the opening ceremony.
He said: “We can dare to say that we are proud to be French. Many people admit that they had a very defeatist attitude towards these Games. Many people thought that on the night of the ceremony the whole world would make fun of us. And it is an overflowing love.”
Speaking to Le Parisien, Reboul gave no clues about the script of the final show, but said it will offer “a moment of tolerance, sharing and community”, without using a bad pun.
“But here we are in a stadium,” he said. “It’s all Thomas’ universe, which is a bit like a theater… it’s going to be great. But what we did on the Seine, we can only do once.”
“If all goes well, we’ll have a lot of fun. But I don’t know of any edition of the Olympics where the closing ceremony has changed the perception of the opening ceremony. This one is changing the whole perception of the Games.”
