Point-Counter Point: Olympic Ceremonies

Sam:

You know what really grinds my gears? The Olympic opening and closing ceremonies. Not the thousands of Olympic athletes being honored as they represent their countries at the highest levels of athletic achievement. Rather, it is the bizarre artistic performances that an unknown cabal of Olympic organizers has shoved down the throats of the global public. This may sound harsh, but allow me some space to express my very niche grievance.

The Olympics are an astounding showing of global solidarity and unity, with thousands of elite athletes coming together from all countries and regions of this planet to test the limits of human physical fitness. For weeks, we set aside politics and conflict to celebrate human strength and amateur sport.

As for the host of the games, a country and city step forward and open their arms to the global community, often spending billions on infrastructure to do so. In doing so, these countries and cities expose the global public to unique cultures and customs. The Olympics, in this sense, are a way to bridge cultural divides and create a more tolerant global community. Thus, in hosting the games, a country and city should be granted the space to expose their culture and customs in any way they so choose.

HOWEVER, let the manner in which they so choose be consistent and accessible. First, why are Diplo and Major Lazer performing at the closing ceremonies in Milan Cortina?[1] Diplo is an American DJ born in Tupelo, Mississippi. Major Lazer, likewise, is an American electronic dance music group. Where is the Italian nexus? Second, the closing ceremonies featured a bizarre assortment of characters serenading a half-empty Verona coliseum. The organizers would likely argue this to be a bold, avant-garde performance, conveying a particular message from the host country and displaying the culture of Milan and Northeast Italy. But I can’t tell what message this conveys. I admit that this may be due to my own lack of artistic literacy or my own distaste for abstract art. But, is this a display of Northern Italian culture or just a strange hodgepodge of performances that only a few devoted Olympic fans will enjoy? I can’t tell, and I doubt many viewers could decipher how this performance represents Olympic values or Italian culture and customs. I’m not sure why a man was singing in a rodent costume, high above the ground.

As the United States and the city of Los Angeles prepare to host the 2028 Summer Olympics, I urge those organizers–who have not been implicated in the Epstein Files–to orchestrate consistent and accessible opening and closing ceremonies, with LA-based artists and musicians, conveying clear messages about LA’s unique culture and Olympic values.[2]

Andrew:

I appreciate Sam really putting the “critic” in “art critic” with the same deftness that Lydia Ko putt the ball in the ’24 Summer Games. I, too, share his befuddlement at the meaning of some pieces of modern art and some segments of the Olympic Ceremonies. That said, I must disagree with this egregious effrontery to global sport and art.

Addressing Sam’s points first, I do not think that a lack of understanding by either of us ought to inhibit our enjoyment or appreciation of the occasion. For example, I make no claim to understand the various and vague ways proximate cause is determined, but I certainly appreciated Palsgraf v. Long Island Railroad and Torts in general. For a sports and art-specific example, I do not know why Anthony Pitts Jr., Wayne Selden’s uncle, wore large clocks to the 2016 Big 12 men’s basketball tournament, but I know for sure that it added to the vibes and KU’s momentum at the time.[3]

Sam also asks that the host use a consistent manner when deciding how to expose their culture. Such consistency would defeat the point of each country representing itself in a unique way. A world in which the IOC mandates a consistent decision-making process is one step up a slippery slope from mandating that each country dress the same and compete equally in the competitions, ultimately resulting in more ties than Craig Sager ever wore.[4] His additional point that the Northern Italian Olympics should only feature local artists instead of Americans like Diplo and Major Lazer would ignore the potential for internationalism that the Olympics provides. People from different countries can appreciate the culture from other places. Would Sam also disapprove of the long history of international performers at that pinnacle of America, the Super Bowl halftime show?

Ultimately, the Olympics are about the whole world, except perhaps for the Vatican City, which appears to have never sent an athlete to the Olympics, so I am content to sit back and enjoy the pageantry as an expression of the local area, the world, and anything in between.[5] Maybe since the Italian Olympics featured rodents and Americans, the Los Angeles Olympics can keep the guy in the rodent costume (rats seem universal, after all) and replace LA artists like Kendrick Lamar with Italians like Måneskin or Giorgio Moroder.

[1] https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/diplo-major-lazer-2026-olympics-closing-ceremony-1236184551/

[2] https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7018074/2026/02/03/casey-wasserman-los-angeles-olympics-epstein-release/ 

[3] https://www.espn.com/blog/collegebasketballnation/post/_/id/112137/wayne-seldens-uncle-im-bringing-a-bigger-clock-reaction-on-saturday

[4] https://www.theguardian.com/sport/gallery/2016/dec/16/craig-sager-blazers-ties-shirts-flamboyant-outfits

[5] https://www.kaggle.com/datasets/heesoo37/120-years-of-olympic-history-athletes-and-results