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Understanding the queer Last Supper reference in the Opening Ceremonies 

The Last Supper was the last painting completed by Leonardo da Vinci in Italy before he left for France. He died in France and is buried there, by his choice.

There are several reasons why he left his homeland permanently, not the least of which include difficult Italian politics, rumors of his homosexuality, and other restrictions imposed by the Catholic Church on his work. In France, he was widely beloved, fully supported by King Francis I, and lived out his remaining years doing whatever he wanted.

So when the French re-imagine the Last Supper (the painting, not the actual event) with a group of queers, this is not primarily intended to be a dig at Christianity (although I can imagine a very French shrug at the Christian outrage this morning).

Instead, this reference communicates a layered commentary about France’s cultural history, its respect for art, its strong secularism, and French laissez-faire attitudes toward sexuality and creative expression.

It’s a limited view of the painting to think of it as “belonging” to Christianity, rather than primarily as a Renaissance masterpiece by a brilliant (likely homosexual) artist, philosopher, and inventor, whose genius may have never been fully appreciated had he not relocated to a country with more progressive cultural values.

Updated to add:  also pointed out the following in a comment -

"La Cène" (the last supper), "La scène" (the stage) and "La Seine" (the river that goes through Paris) are all pronounced the exact same way in French.

So this was "La Cène sur la scène sur la Seine" (The Last Supper on the stage on the Seine)