The Olympic Games, a grand sporting event held once every four years, is taking place in Paris, the capital of France. Following the Tokyo Olympics, which were humorously dubbed the “Underworld Olympics” by netizens, the world was filled with anticipation for this event. However, the opening ceremony alone has managed to completely infuriate the global audience.
Firstly, during the solemn flag-raising segment, under the watchful eyes of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) President and the global live broadcast, the staff very seriously and solemnly hoisted the Olympic flag upside down, committing such a basic mistake.
Secondly, the name of South Korea was mistakenly pronounced. When introducing the South Korean team, the name of the country was actually mispronounced, which led to the South Korean government lodging a protest against the incident.
Most importantly, this Olympic opening ceremony was filled with blasphemy against Christianity and other religions. One of the sponsors of the Paris Olympics, the American tech company C Spire, announced on social media that representatives of the LGBT community imitated Leonardo da Vinci’s famous painting “The Last Supper,” mocking God. Subsequently, the company withdrew all its advertisements from the Paris Olympics, and some sponsors announced the withdrawal of their advertisements during the Olympic period, which is a very heavy blow to the commercial value of the Paris Olympics. At the same time, this is also a heavy blow to the brand influence of the Paris Olympics.
In the end, the official decision was made to remove the opening ceremony highlight video from the official channel to maintain the image and reputation of the Olympic brand. This may only be the beginning, and for the Paris Olympics, more controversies are likely to intensify as the competition progresses.