A SCENE broadcast during the Olympic opening ceremony has been called 'unnecessary and highly offensive' by the Bishop of Worcester.

There has been backlash after drag queens were thought to be parodying the Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci during the opening ceremony for the Paris Olympics on Friday (July 26).

Bishop of Worcester Rt Revd Dr John Inge responded to criticism of the sketch on X, formerly known as Twitter.

He wrote: "Neither funny not beautiful but, as you say, unnecessary and highly offensive.

"The secular elite would not dream of mocking other faiths in this dreadful manner."

Bishop John was responding to Gavin Calver, CEO of Evangelical Alliance who wrote: "I hope that the #PARIS2024 #OlympicGames are a great success.

"However, it really was appalling to see Christianity so openly mocked in the opening ceremony with the unbelievably crass portrayal of the Last Supper. Utterly insensitive, unnecessary and offensive."

 

Despite a resemblance to the Last Supper, the Olympic Games official X account said it was based on the Feast of Dionysus.

It wrote: "The interpretation of the Greek God Dionysus makes us aware of the absurdity of violence between human beings."

CONFUSION: According to The Olymic Games, the scene was an interpretation of the Feast of DionysusCONFUSION: According to The Olymic Games, the scene was an interpretation of the Feast of Dionysus (Image: Screengrab)

According to the overnight figures, the BBC said there was a peak of 7.9 million people tuning in.

The opening ceremony for the Olympics attracted more BBC viewers than the last two games, figures show.

READ MORE: Worcestershire's Olympic athletes in action over the weekend

READ MORE: Worcestershire athletes in Paris for 2024 Olympics

Canadian singer Celine Dion performed French singer Edith Piaf’s L’Hymne A L’Amour at the Eiffel Tower.

SPECTACULAR: The Eiffel Tower is lit up with the Olympic ringsSPECTACULAR: The Eiffel Tower is lit up with the Olympic rings (Image: Joel Marklund/PA)

It was Dion’s first public performance since she disclosed that she is living with the rare condition stiff person syndrome, in December 2022.

American singer Lady Gaga also performed singing in French during her performance at the Paris Olympics opening ceremony.

The 38-year-old hid behind a plume of pink feathers as she walked down a set of golden stairs next to the River Seine, close to Notre Dame cathedral.

The singer, real name Stefani Germanotta, appeared from behind the feathers and sang “good evening, welcome to Paris” before she engaged in a high-octane performance.

Athletes from Worcestershire are in Paris to compete including Evesham-born marathon runner Rose Harvey, Droitwich swimmer Matt Richards and Malvern cyclist Evie Richards.