27-7-2024 (PARIS) The French capital’s ambitious reimagining of the Olympic Games opening ceremony has ignited a firestorm of debate on social media platforms, with many viewers expressing disappointment and confusion over the unconventional spectacle.
Breaking from tradition, the Paris 2024 organisers opted to forgo the customary stadium-based ceremony in favour of a grand procession along the River Seine. Athletes and delegations arrived via boat, gliding past iconic Parisian landmarks before culminating their journey at the foot of the Eiffel Tower. This novel approach aimed to showcase the city’s rich cultural heritage and architectural splendour.
Interspersed throughout the aquatic parade were various artistic performances and vignettes celebrating French culture. However, this departure from the norm appears to have left many spectators bemused and, in some cases, thoroughly unimpressed.
One disgruntled viewer took to the social media platform X to voice their displeasure: “This is the worst Olympic opening ceremony I have ever seen, it’s actually embarrassing. It is NOTHING to do with the sports and athletes, it’s just some random dancers getting all the airtime and the athletes get maybe 5 seconds per country? Ridiculous!!!”
The sentiment was echoed by numerous others, with one user garnering over 16,000 likes for their critique: “I’m sorry but this has to be the worst Olympic opening ceremony in memory. It’s an interesting idea bringing the athletes in on boats but it looks rubbish and misses the roar of the crowd. Sorry but not for me.”
A particular point of contention among viewers was the inclusion of a performance featuring a man covered in blue body paint, reclining on a platter of fruit. This peculiar tableau quickly became known on social media as “Blue Scrotum”, with one user quipping, “Who had seeing a blue scrotum on their Olympic opening ceremony bingo card. For teenagers of the 90s this is like Eurotrash the movie. Incroyable.”
What are your thoughts on this? pic.twitter.com/vK9FDzpPJ6
— Planet Of Memes (@PlanetOfMemes) July 26, 2024
The unconventional nature of the ceremony led some to question whether they were watching the Olympics at all, with one viewer asking, “Sorry, am I watching the Olympics or Eurovision?”
