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27th July 2024
12:57pm BST
There were many talking points from last night’s Olympic opening ceremony that took place on the Seine in Paris.
The ambitious spectacle divided opinion with many, including Clare Balding labelling the show as ‘weird and wonderful’ whilst USA’s Michael Johnson was left speechless before declaring it was ‘different’.
The show celebrated several Parisian landmarks as the Olympic torch made its way to the Eiffel Tower before Zinedine Zidane and Rafael Nadal sent it back along the river in a boat with Serena Williams.
There was one moment in particular that had viewers talking though and that was the appearance of a half-naked ‘blue scrotum’ man who appeared to be lying on a platter of fruit.
Viewers took to social media to share their thoughts on the unusual moment.
One viewer said: “Loving the randomness of the #OlympicCeremony 90s rave and now a blue man on a serving platter.”
Another said: “If I dream about a blue naked man chasing me today singing in French… you know why.”
On user said: “#Paris2024 Opening Ceremony has felt like an acid trip.”
People took to X to share their theories behind the blue man’s appearance at the games.
It was actually French singer-songwriter Philippe Katerine who became a household name in France back in the 2000s with his dance music, who was performing in a nod to ancient Greek origins.
He sang a song called ‘Nu’ which translates as ‘Naked’. It was a performance inspired by the Greek god of wine and revelry called Dionysus.
The god represents chaos, creativity and theatre and is often accompanied by grapevines, leopards and a thyrsus.
However, the blue breaks from tradition, no one is quite sure why Katerine was painted in that way.
X users who are fans of Katerine also shared their thoughts: “How do we explain this concept to the rest of the world?”
Another wrote: “1 billion people discovering Philippe Katerine in this way—that’s my France.”
He certainly made an impression!
