2024 Paris Olympics marked by controversies
ANKARA
The 2024 Paris Olympics, which began on July 26 with around 10,500 athletes representing 205 delegations, ended Sunday but will be remembered for several controversial decisions and developments.
They include a ban on Russian athletes competing under their flag not being applied to Israel, a ban on headscarves for French Olympic athletes, the expulsion of homeless people from the capital, the opening ceremony, which was criticized as being blasphemous, and swimmers having to compete in a polluted Seine River.
Controversial opening ceremony
The opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics on July 26 at the Seine River has been criticized by religious authorities and the international community for offending Christianity.
The performance of a “drag queen” (a man wearing women’s clothes and make-up) at the ceremony, which was a “first” in that it was held outside the stadium, was met with negative reactions on the grounds that it depicted Leonardo da Vinci’s painting “The Last Supper” about Jesus Christ and disrespected religious beliefs.
The Catholic Church in France, several Christian unions including the Middle East Council of Churches and the Vatican strongly criticized the opening.
Following the international outcry, Thomas Jolly, the artistic director of the event, said in a statement that the controversial reenactment scene did not depict Jesus Christ but Dionysus, the god of wine in Greek mythology, and “a pagan festival.”
Homeless pushed out of Paris due to Olympics
In preparation for the Olympics, France evicted homeless people and irregular migrants, including children, from their homes in and around the capital.
They were bused to cities such as Strasbourg and Orleans.
According to a report by an umbrella organization of associations helping irregular migrants, 12,545 people were affected by the evictions from April 2023 to May 2024.
Hijab ban at Olympics
French authorities barred women athletes competing for the host country from wearing the hijab, or Muslim headscarf, during the Games.
In September, then-French Sports Minister Amelie Oudea-Castera said French athletes would be prohibited from wearing the hijab during the Olympics.
French sprinter Sounkamba Sylla, who was a competitor in the 4×400 meters relay, was banned from taking part in the opening ceremony on Friday with her hijab on.
But following a backlash from some athletes and social media users, Oudea-Castera said in an interview with CNN’s Christiane Amanpour that “the issue is solved,” and Sylla was allowed to participate by wearing a cap to cover her hair.
Calls to ban Israeli athletes
Many argued that Israeli athletes should be banned by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) from participating in the 2024 Olympics because of their country’s ongoing offensive against Gaza, similar to the procedure applied to Russian athletes over the Ukraine war.
More than 80 associations organized a protest against Israel’s participation.
Pollution of Seine
Since 2015, the French government has reportedly spent around €1.4 billion ($1.53 billion) to clean up the Seine River, in which people have been banned from swimming since 1923 due to pollution and dangers from ship traffic.
The announcement that the swimming and triathlon races at the Olympics would be held in the Seine had raised concerns about health and hygiene conditions.
The Belgian team withdrew from the triathlon mixed team finals after Belgian athlete Claire Michel contracted E. Coli bacteria after her individual races in the Seine.
Similarly, Portuguese triathlete Vasco Vilaca suffered symptoms consistent with a gastrointestinal infection after the race, while German swimmer Leonie Beck announced that she was ill after her race.
In addition, swimming training in the Seine was canceled five times due to pollution.
*Writing by Selcuk Bugra Gokalp
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