
<p>Zimbabwe’s Minister of Youth, Sport, Arts and Recreation Kirsty Coventry is making an historic bid to lead the International Olympic Committee (IOC), hoping to become the first female president of the organization in its 130-year history.</p>



<p>Coventry, 41, is a decorated Olympian herself having won two gold medals, four silver and a bronze in backstroke and medley events in the pool, having shone at the Athens (2004) and Beijing (2008) Games. </p>



<p>It is the best medal haul of any Olympian from Africa, and since retirement she has turned to politics having been Zimbabwe’s sports minister since 2018.</p>



<p>That experience will come in handy as she bids for the presidency of the IOC, hoping to take over from incumbent Thomas Bach, whose term has come to an end, but she comes up against six strong candidates.</p>



<p>Englishman Sebastian Coe is the president of World Athletics, Juan Antonio Samaranch Salisachs from Spain is the current IOC vice-president, Morinari Watanabe from Japan is president of the International Gymnastics Federation, David Lappartient from France is president of the International Cycling Union, Johan Eliasch of England is president of the International Ski and Snowboard Federation; and Prince Feisal Al Hussein from Jordan is a member of the IOC executive board.</p>



<p>“I really felt it was time for Africa now, time for a woman and just time in general,” Coventry told Zimbabwe Sports Hub. “I think when you get to certain pathways in your career, you have to choose whether or not you are going to keep running the race, move forward or not.</p>



<p>“And for us, for me, for my family, for a lot of support that I have received from my African colleagues, from my IOC colleagues, everything felt like the time is now to throw my hat into the ring and again come back to being an athlete.”</p>



<p>Coventry does have experience of administration within the IOC, she was elected chairperson of the IOC Athletes&#8217; Commission, the body that represents all Olympic athletes worldwide, in 2018. She also serves on the IOC’s executive committee.</p>



<p>The election of a new president will take place at the 144th IOC Session in Athens, Greece, from March 18-21, 2025.</p>


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<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-topline">Topline</h2>



<p>Olympics organizers have&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/maryroeloffs/2024/07/28/olympics-organizers-apologize-after-drag-queen-last-supper-slammed-by-conservatives/">apologized</a>&nbsp;for staging a scene during the opening ceremony that appeared to parody Leonardo Da Vinci’s “The Last Supper” with drag queens, after the scene sparked an uproar from some U.S. religious and conservative leaders and right-wing pundits, echoing protests in recent years against drag performances.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-facts">Key Facts</h2>



<p>Late into the opening ceremony of the Paris Summer Olympics on Friday night, cameras cut to a long table overlooking the Seine River filled with drag stars appearing to resemble Jesus and the 12 apostles in Da Vinci’s fresco masterpiece (Paris Olympics ceremony director Thomas Jolly later told French outlet&nbsp;<a href="https://rmcsport.bfmtv.com/jeux-olympiques/ceremonie-d-ouverture-des-jo-thomas-jolly-et-daphne-burki-repondent-aux-critiques-de-jean-luc-melenchon_AV-202407280144.html" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">BFM TV</a>&nbsp;the scene was a nod to Greek mythology, and not “The Last Supper”).</p>



<p>Right-wing pundits and some lawmakers took to social media shortly after, questioning why the scene was included in the opening ceremony, with former CNN host Piers Morgan&nbsp;<a href="https://x.com/piersmorgan/status/1817189903521976503" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">posting</a>: “Would they have mocked any other religion like this? Appalling decision.”</p>



<p>Donald Trump Jr. re-posted a photo of the depiction,&nbsp;<a href="https://x.com/DonaldJTrumpJr/status/1817155924345139227" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">saying</a>, “They’re not even pretending anymore,” while billionaire SpaceX, Tesla and X owner Elon Musk called the parody “extremely disrespectful to Christians” in a&nbsp;<a href="https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1816948075174203771" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">post</a>&nbsp;on his social media platform.</p>



<p>On Saturday, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., <a href="https://x.com/SpeakerJohnson/status/1817229481972473922" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">blasted the scene</a>, calling it “shocking and insulting to Christian people around the world.”</p>



<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">JUST IN: Telecommunications company C Spire has removed all advertising from the Olympics after they mocked Christianity in their opening ceremony.<br><br>C Spire is the sixth-largest wireless provider in the United States.<br><br>&quot;We were shocked by the mockery of the Last Supper during the… <a href="https://t.co/FHnivRD1z1">pic.twitter.com/FHnivRD1z1</a></p>&mdash; Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) <a href="https://twitter.com/CollinRugg/status/1817286135581933676?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 27, 2024</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div></figure>



<p>Actor and comedian Rob Schneider said he would boycott watching the Olympics, arguing in a&nbsp;<a href="https://x.com/RobSchneider/status/1817636079526383634" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">post</a>&nbsp;on X, formerly known as Twitter, the scene “disrespects Christianity and openly celebrates Satan,” while “Full House” star Candace Cameron Bure slammed the parody in an&nbsp;<a href="https://www.instagram.com/reel/C9891rPRYEm/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;ig_rid=d66987b6-2559-4a6d-b317-94a06c9c08d7" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Instagram</a>&nbsp;post, saying it “mock[d] the Christian faith,” saying it made her “sad for souls.”</p>



<p>Former Trump attorney Jenna Ellis also&nbsp;<a href="https://x.com/realJennaEllis/status/1816936347275231671" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">criticized</a>&nbsp;the move as “[o]vert pagan and satanic symbolism,” and Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker—who&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/jamesfarrell/2024/05/15/heres-harrison-butkers-controversial-commencement-speech-in-full/">sparked controversy</a>&nbsp;by suggesting women should focus on being mothers —called the parody “crazy” in a story on&nbsp;<a href="https://www.instagram.com/buttkicker7/?hl=en" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Instagram</a>.</p>



<p>Some Christian bishops also bemoaned the parody: Minnesota Bishop Robert Barron, a prominent U.S. Catholic leader,&nbsp;<a href="https://x.com/BishopBarron/status/1816989733504860577" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">called it</a>&nbsp;a “gross mockery” and emblematic of a “deeply secularist postmodern society,” while Wisconsin-based Bishop Donald Hying&nbsp;<a href="https://x.com/bishophying/status/1817013215710114236" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">slammed</a>&nbsp;it as “blasphemy,” and Texas-based Bishop Daniel Flores&nbsp;<a href="https://x.com/bpdflores/status/1816971295579337188" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">posted</a>: “the agendas just use the athletes; they deserve more respect. So do people of Christian Faith.”</p>



<p>The parody also drew backlash from conservative commentators, with&nbsp;<a href="https://x.com/LibertyLockPod/status/1816938415822159951" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">one</a>&nbsp;arguing the scene was a message to Christians that they are “NOT WELCOME,” and another claiming the Olympics have “gone full Woke dystopian,” while also&nbsp;<a href="https://x.com/kylenabecker/status/1816977236085416353" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">arguing</a>&nbsp;the depiction of a white horse carrying the Olympic flag was a reference to the pale horse, a sign of death in the Book of Revelation, the last book in the Bible.</p>



<p>Right-wing filmmaker Dinesh D’Souza—whose 2022 conspiracy documentary “2000 Mules” laid out a far-right claim the 2020 election was stolen from former President Donald Trump—<a href="https://x.com/DineshDSouza/status/1817213585581330607" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">called</a>&nbsp;the “Last Supper” parody “blasphemous,” saying: “Outrageous and disrespectful doesn’t begin to cover it.”</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-contra">Contra</h2>



<p>Many on social media platforms were&nbsp;<a href="https://x.com/kevinmyoung/status/1817045800335093863" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">quick</a>&nbsp;<a href="https://x.com/Eve_Barlow/status/1817193910688719273" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">to</a>&nbsp;<a href="https://x.com/lesterkk/status/1817172582249922856" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">point out</a>&nbsp;the Olympics rendition of “The Last Supper” was far from the first parody of the Da Vinci painting, a frequent target of satire, with more recent examples used by TV shows such as “The Simpsons,” “Billions” and “The Sopranos,” and with celebrities portraying the role of Jesus, from Freddie Mercury to Marilyn Monroe.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-background">Key Background</h2>



<p>Drag queens became the target of right-wing criticism in recent years, coinciding with right-wing pushback against companies that have embraced LGBTQ messaging, and as some GOP-led states push for <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/saradorn/2024/05/10/trump-promises-rollback-on-trans-rights-heres-what-hes-said/">anti-trans legislation</a>, including bans on trans students in locker rooms and bathrooms that align with their gender identities. Right-wing protests against drag have come partly in response to a series of so-called <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/conormurray/2023/02/03/how-drag-queens-became-a-right-wing-target-from-alex-jones-to-tucker-carlsonwith-these-states-trying-to-ban-story-hours-and-shows/">Drag Story Hour</a> events, with some GOP lawmakers baselessly claiming the events sexualize children, and House Republicans <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/anti-drag-queen-story-hour-bill-republicans-target-lessons-2022-10" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">introduced</a> the “Stop the Sexualization of Children” act in 2022. The Anti-Defamation League later <a href="https://www.adl.org/resources/blog/what-grooming-truth-behind-dangerous-bigoted-lie-targeting-lgbtq-community" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">said</a> those claims of “grooming children” are baseless and “bigoted.” But protests around the story hour events persisted, leading to the cancellation of some events, including a 2022 event in San Francisco disrupted by the far-right Proud Boys.</p>


Tag: Olympics 2024

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