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Paris Plunged into Darkness Hours after Controversial Olympics Opening Ceremony

Michael Foust

An Olympics Opening Ceremony featuring drag queens seemingly portraying Jesus and the disciples was followed by a major power outage, leading some observers to attribute the event to divine providence. Friday’s Opening Ceremony included a controversial scene in which drag queens stood behind a table that, to some, appeared to be a reenactment of Leonardo da Vinci’s painting The Last Supper. 

Although the ceremony’s designer, Thomas Jolly, said the scene was inspired by Dionysus, the Greek god of wine and fertility, the Opening Ceremony’s producers contradicted Jolly, saying in a statement Jolly “took inspiration from Leonardo da Vinci’s famous painting to create the setting” although “there was never an intention to show disrespect towards any religious group or belief.” Critics noted that the drag queen at the center of the table wore a silver headdress resembling a halo -- as if depicting Christ.

The Opening Ceremony itself was marred by heavy rain, which some interpreted as an act of divine judgment. It was the first time since the 1952 Olympics in Helsinki that rain had disrupted a Summer Games Opening Ceremony. 

“Maybe God’s trying to tell you something,” one person wrote on X (formerly Twitter). 

Hours later, a blackout plunged much of the city into darkness, with viral images of a darkened Paris circulating on social media. Although many assumed the photos were outdated and that the posts were false, the Paris newspaper Le Parisien confirmed that there was indeed a blackout that affected nearly 100,000 customers in the 1st, 9th, 17th, and 18th districts. 

The Christian Post noted that many Christians on social media attributed it to divine providence. One viral image showed multiple blocks without power but lights shining brightly on a church, the Basilica of the Sacred Heart. 

“The irony of an electrical power outage in Paris in the wake of the blasphemous & debauched opening ceremonies of the Olympics should be noted. The evil on display mocks God’s power, and then the city is left powerless,” former Bishop Joseph Strickland of Tyler, Texas, tweeted.

Other Catholics agreed.

“God Is In Control. Just twenty-four hours after the opening Olympic debauchery in Paris, they get a blackout -- the only lights that could be seen were on the Basilica Of The Sacred Heart Of Jesus -- Sacré-Cœur Basilica located at the summit of the butte of Montmartre,” wrote Sr. Mary Joseph Calore of the Sister Servants of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. “From its dome two hundred meters above the Seine, the basilica overlooks the entire city of Paris and its suburbs.”

Even on Tuesday, four days after the Opening Ceremonies, the impact of the rain was still being felt at the Summer Games. 

The men’s triathlon race, set to begin Tuesday, was postponed due to unsafe water pollution levels in the River Seine following the heavy rains on Friday and Saturday. Officials blamed “meteorological events beyond our control,” according to NPR. 

The French government had invested over $1.5 billion in efforts to clean the river.

“Heavy rains overwhelm the city’s antiquated sewer system, leaking untreated sewage into the Seine and hiking up rates of E. coli bacteria,” the NPR report said. 

It is possible the swimming portion of the event will be canceled entirely, and athletes will compete in a “duathlon” that only involves running and biking.

Photo Credit: ©X/sscjusa

Michael Foust has covered the intersection of faith and news for 20 years. His stories have appeared in Baptist Press, Christianity Today, The Christian Post, the Leaf-Chronicle, the Toronto Star and the Knoxville News-Sentinel.