Devil Expelled from Paradise or a Traveler – Who Is Depicted on the Paris Olympics Banner?

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Reading Time: 3 minutes

Paris Olympics Banner
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On August 12, Georgian and Russian-language Facebook users (1,2,3,4) disseminated the claim that the closing ceremony of the Olympics contained elements of Satan worship, specifically that the Paris Olympics banner depicted the devil expelled from paradise by God. According to these users, the character dressed in a golden costume during the closing ceremony had the same symbolic meaning.

Paris Olympics Banner

The claim that the Olympics closing ceremony contained Satanic symbolism is a conspiracy. The Paris Olympics banner does not depict the devil expelled from paradise. The character in the golden costume represents a traveler who visits Earth in the future and revives the lost Olympic Games. The inspiration for this character came from elements of French history, science fiction, and video games.

The closing ceremony of the Paris Olympics took place on August 11 at the Stade de France (France’s national stadium). Neither the poster nor any part of the ceremony depicted the expulsion of Satan from paradise. The character dressed in gold, called the “Golden Voyager,” was inspired by the field of science fiction, video games, and elements of French history, including the “Spirit of the Bastille.”

According to the ceremony’s artistic director, Thomas Jolly, he wanted the games to be a journey into the past, to the origins of the Games, but also into the future, and ultimately to a timeless universe. Jolly created a storyline inspired by the history of the Games’ disappearance and revival by Pierre de Coubertin, where the Games are once again lost in the future and then rediscovered.

The Golden Voyager is the character who visits Earth in the future and discovers various symbols connected to the origins and values of the Olympic Games. Such symbols include Nike, the goddess of victory in Greek mythology, and the Olympic rings.

Paris Olympics Banner
The descent of the Golden Voyager in the stadium. Photo: olympics.com 

The storyline culminated in the raising of the Olympic rings in the air, symbolizing the revival of the Olympics.

Paris Olympics Banner
Raising of the Olympic rings. Photo: olympics.com

Therefore, the closing ceremony of the Olympics did not depict the expulsion of Satan from paradise, and posts on this topic are conspiratorial. It’s also worth noting that the opening ceremony of the Olympics was also targeted by conspiracy theories. For more on the disinformation surrounding this sporting event, see Myth Detector’s articles.

About the Sources

Facebook user Maia Tvaltvadze regularly spreads conspiracy theories and anti-Western disinformation. The disinformation she spreads has been debunked multiple times by Myth Detector in the past.

Russian-language Facebook user Miroslava Berdnik often shares anti-Ukrainian and anti-Western disinformation through two interconnected Facebook accounts. Posts containing identical disinformation often appear simultaneously on both accounts.

Paris Olympics Banner

Archive: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5


The article has been written in the framework of Facebook’s fact-checking program. You can read more about the restrictions that Facebook may impose based on this article via this link. You can find information about appealing or editing our assessment via this link.

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11Topic: Sport
Country: France
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