Despite low initial enthusiasm among the French public and weak demand for high-priced tickets, the Olympics had a huge impact in Southeast Europe. Karina Diakova In a Bulgarian newspaper capital. Paris 2024 has been both a gesture of reconciliation and a Pandora’s box for the region’s people, fostering feelings of unity and awe, but also bringing ideological and political conflicts to the surface.
The bright side
In a column published in a Romanian cultural magazine: The old dilemmaSports commentator Radu Naum “This game killed it,” he claimed, “with its variety, originality, location selection, and smiling young competitors who tell everyone that “life is beautiful.” Also, Capital’s Dimitar Kamburov The opening ceremony was described as a “work of art”, and the same paper described the event’s director, Thomas Jolly, as a “builder of capitalism”.
The Olympics also gave the citizens of Southeast Europe much to cheer about. According to the official Paris 2024 Olympic rankings, five countries from the region are among the top 30 medal-winning nations: Romania with nine medals (23rd), Turkey and Greece with eight medals each (26th), and Croatia and Bulgaria with seven medals (30th).
The wrath of the orthodox
There have been complaints from the Bulgarian and Romanian Orthodox Churches about the Olympics and the opening ceremony. The Bulgarian Orthodox Church’s Clergy Council declared that the artistic images presented at the opening ceremony were “incompatible with and contradictory to Christian evangelical morality.” Bulgarian News Portal Media pool It was reported.
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Also, former spokesman for the Romanian Orthodox Church, Vasil Banescu, complained about the alleged Last Supper-like scene. “It is a truly hideous image of the degenerates who are obsessed with an ideology that is not their own, if they do not mock, challenge and defile all that is pure and holy,” he wrote on Facebook. Iowa ion In a Romanian newspaper truth.
LGBTQIA+ Olympic volleyball player faces criminal charges from Erdogan supporter
Evrar Karakurt, an LGBTQIA+ athlete, has been criminally charged by a Justice and Development Party (AKP, conservative Islamist party) supporter for allegedly trolling opponents of the Erdogan regime after helping the Turkish women’s volleyball team reach the semifinals at the Olympics. According to a Turkish daily, when the troll congratulated the Turkish team “without the provocateur Evrar Karakurt,” Karakurt rhetorically asked his team, “Guys, who is this idiot?” republic.
Serbian Olympic Athletes: To Hug or Not to Hug President Vucic
The game also provoked several political and personal reactions in Serbia. Dusan Mandic, the gold medalist and MVP of the water polo tournament in Paris, did not shake hands with Belgrade Mayor Aleksandar Šapic (Serbia Progressive Party, populist) at a reception organized for the players due to a personal feud. Aleksandar Pavlovich For ~ today. In contrast to Mandic’s gesture, Serbian Olympic athletes did not hesitate to hug President Aleksandar Vučić (also from the Serbian Progressive Party) at the reception, awarding him more political points. “I understand the protocol, and it is normal to receive congratulations from the president of a country in another country, but I understand that it is not necessarily a warm hug. He did not deserve that.” today reporter Ugleyesa Bokichi As he wrote in a recent opinion piece: “I love sports, but I cannot celebrate their success while my country and my people are fighting and paying the price for the greed of this regime.” Bokichi Said.
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