Russia decries Olympics opening as 'massive failure,' slams rain, security, and controversial acts

Paris: Russia harshly criticised the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympic Games, calling it a "massive failure." Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, on Saturday, detailed several perceived flaws in the ceremony, which was notably not broadcast live on Russian television.

Zakharova, who initially had no plans to watch the opening, expressed disbelief after seeing photos of the event. She compared the images to "deep fakes or photoshop," questioning the authenticity of what she saw. She criticised the ceremony for forcing guests to endure hours of rain without adequate protection, such as awnings or cloud-seeding, a technique Russia uses to prevent rain at major outdoor events.

Only a handful of Russian athletes have been allowed to compete in the Games as "neutrals," following the ban on Russian competitors under their national flag due to Russia's military actions in Ukraine. Zakharova also commented on the disruption caused by arson attacks on Paris’s rail system, which France attributed to sabotage. She expressed scepticism about the security measures, sarcastically questioning how many "spies" had to be involved for the ceremony to be deemed such a failure.

Zakharova lambasted the event’s logistics, describing Paris as a "ghetto for homeless people" with "rats flooding the streets." She also criticised various aspects of the ceremony, including the participation of US rapper Snoop Dogg in carrying the Olympic torch and several ceremonial blunders, such as mistakenly introducing the South Korean team as North Korea and raising the Olympic flag upside-down.

One particular point of contention for Zakharova was a segment featuring drag queens, which some interpreted as a parody of "The Last Supper." She labelled this part of the ceremony as a "mockery of a sacred story for Christians," accusing the organisers of turning the event into a "giant gay parade."

Russian Orthodox Church spokesman Vakhtang Kipshidze echoed these sentiments, denouncing the ceremony as "cultural and historical suicide" on his personal Telegram channel. AFP