The Paris Olympics are serving up plenty of thrills and spills.
But amid the attention-grabbing action and heart-stopping moments, there has been a lot of apologising.
We’ve seen apologies for country confusion, controversial comments, drone spying missions, advert backlashes and much more.
Let’s take a look at them and explore the crisis communication lessons you can learn.
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‘Last supper’ controversy
Shall we start at the beginning with the opening ceremony?
Olympic organisers apologised after a scene during the ceremony caused offence.
A banquet sequence featuring drag artists was criticised by Christian groups who felt it parodied Leonardo da Vinci's painting 'The Last Supper'.
The Catholic church in France was among those who criticised the segment, saying, “This ceremony has unfortunately included scenes of derision and mockery of Christianity, which we very deeply deplore.”
And US tech firm C Spire announced it would withdraw its advertising from the Olympics in protest.
We were shocked by the mockery of the Last Supper during the opening ceremonies of the Paris Olympics. C Spire will be pulling our advertising from the Olympics.
— C Spire (@CSpire) July 27, 2024
President and CEO Suzy Hays said: "C Spire is supportive of our athletes who have worked so hard to be a part of the Olympics. However, we will not be a part of the offensive and unacceptable mockery of the Last Supper, which is why we’re pulling our advertising from the Olympics.”
Olympic Games organisers apologised – kind of – for the controversy.
Paris 2024 spokesperson Anne Descamps told a press conference: “Clearly, there was never an intention to show disrespect to any religious group. [The opening ceremony] tried to celebrate community tolerance.
“We believe this ambition was achieved. If people have taken any offence, we are really sorry.”
Mistaken identity
The opening ceremony also saw a diplomatic mishap as South Korean athletes were wrongly introduced as North Korea.
As the team floated down the River Seine during the processions, they were announced as the "Democratic People's Republic of Korea" - the official name of North Korea.
The Korean peninsula has been split into South and North Korea since the end of the Second World War. And the South Korean sports ministry said it planned to lodge a "strong complaint with France on a government level" about the error.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) apologised through its Korean-language X account. It said: "We would like to offer a deep apology over the mistake that occurred in the introduction of the South Korean delegation during the opening ceremony."
Mark Adams, a spokesperson for the IOC, added: "An operational mistake was made. We can only apologise, in an evening of so many moving parts, that this mistake was made."
An ‘unintentional mistake’
Sportswear giant Adidas apologised after facing a backlash for an Olympic advert featuring model Bella Hadid.
The adverts promoted a shoe first launched to coincide with the 1972 Munich Olympics.
Those games were overshadowed by a terrorist attack by a Palestinian group that left 11 Israeli athletes and one German police officer dead.
Ms Hadid’s father is Palestinian, and her involvement in the campaign drew condemnation. Israel accused her of “having a history of antisemitism”.
.@Adidas recently launched a new campaign for their shoes to highlight the 1972 Munich Olympics.
— Israel ישראל (@Israel) July 18, 2024
Eleven Israelis were murdered by Palestinian terrorists during the Munich Olympics.
Guess who the face of their campaign is? Bella Hadid, a half-Palestinian model who has a history… pic.twitter.com/IgdGq2OLmd
Adidas apologised on Instagram. It said: “Connections continue to be made to the terrible tragedy that occurred at the Munich Olympics due to our recent SL72 campaign.
“These connections are not meant, and we apologise for any upset or distress caused to communities around the world. We made an unintentional mistake.”
Ms Hadid has stated on social media that: “I am shocked, I am upset, and I am disappointed in the lack of sensitivity that went into this campaign.
“Had I been made aware, from the bottom of my heart, I would never have participated.”
Commentator dropped
Bob Ballard, a Eurosport commentator, was removed from the channel's Olympics coverage after a controversial remark made waves.
As the Australian 4x100m freestyle relay team made their way off the swimming pool deck in Paris, the commentator said, “They were finishing up” and added: “You know what women are like... hanging around, doing their make-up.”
The clip went viral, and Mr Ballard was removed from the commentary lineup, with Eurosport describing the comment as “inappropriate”.
Posting on X, the commentator said: “The comments I made during the Australian freestyle relay victory ceremony on Saturday have caused some offence. It was never my intention to upset or belittle anyone and, if I did, I apologise. I am a massive advocate of women’s sport.”
Right here it is the statement pt 1:
— Bob Ballard (@bobballardsport) July 29, 2024
The comments I made during the Australian freestyle relay victory ceremony on Saturday have caused some offence. It was never my intention to upset or belittle anyone and, if I did, I apologise. I am a massive advocate of women’s sport.
I
Subsequently speaking on LBC, he added: "It was a throwaway line - some people might say it’s a bit old-fashioned, but it was never meant to offend.
"It was never meant to upset everybody, and I think there’s been a massive over-reaction from my employers.”
A marathon apology
Pundit and former marathon world champion Paula Radcliffe issued an extensive apology after wishing a convicted rapist ‘good luck’ in the Olympics.
In an LBC interview, she had defended Steven van de Velde competing in the beach volleyball tournament for the Netherlands.
She said: "I know that he is married now and has settled down.
"I think it's a tough thing to do to punish him twice and if he's managed to successfully turn his life around after being sent to prison, and to qualify and to be playing sport at the highest level, then I actually wish him the best of luck."
She later apologised in a series of social media posts.
"I want to sincerely apologise and emphasise how much I categorically condemn the crime of rape. I am ashamed that my words so inaccurately represented myself. It was a mistake not to clearly denounce this at the beginning.”
She added: “Competing in the Olympic Games is a privilege that should be reserved for those who uphold the Olympic moral ideals. I absolutely should not have wished him luck and genuinely have no explanation for why I said that.
"I am truly sorry for so wrongly expressing my intended views and understand that this statement can in no way repair the damage but hopefully conveys my deep regret."
— Paula Radcliffe (@paulajradcliffe) July 25, 2024
Drone scandal
Canada’s women’s football team was hit with a six-point deduction after it emerged drones were used to spy on New Zealand, its group-stage rivals in the Olympic tournament.
And some of the coaching staff were suspended.
Head coach Bev Priestman has since released a statement, through her lawyers, that said: “I am absolutely heartbroken for the players, and I would like to apologise from the bottom of my heart for the impact this situation has on all of them.
“'I know how hard they have worked following a very difficult year in 2023, and that they are a group of people who care very much about sportsmanship and integrity. As the leader of the team on the field, I want to take accountability, and I plan to fully cooperate with the investigation.”
The English coach added: “To Canada, I am sorry.
“You have been my home and a country I have fallen in love with. I hope you continue to support these extremely talented and hardworking players, to help them defy all odds and show their true character.”
Anthem mix up
The Olympic organisers made another apology after the wrong anthem was played for South Sudan ahead of its basketball match with Puerto Rico.
The Sudanese national anthem was wrongly played for 20 seconds instead until it was cut off. One South Sudan player described the error as “disrespectful”.
In a statement, organisers said: “Paris 2024 presents its most sincere apologies to the team from South Sudan and their supporters for the human error during the playing of their national anthem, prior to today’s men’s basketball match.
“We fully understand the gravity of the mistake.
“The mistaken playing of the wrong national anthem was quickly interrupted and the correct national anthem was then played before the match began.
“Together with our technical team, the necessary steps have been taken to understand what caused the mistake and to ensure that it will not happen again.”
The lost ring
Time for one more apology?
Why not?
Italian high jumper Gianmarco Tamberi issued a grovelling apology to his wife after losing his wedding ring during the opening ceremony.
The world champion was waving Italy’s flag on a boat when the ring fell off and ended up in the River Seine.
“I'm sorry my love, I'm so sorry,” he wrote on social media
“Too much water, too many kilograms lost in the past few months or maybe the uncontrollable enthusiasm of what we were doing.”
He added: “If it was meant to happen, if I'm really going to lose this faith, I couldn't imagine a better place.”
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Mon Dieu (sorry), we have seen a lot of apologies.
And they are a mixed bag.
Some feel genuine and heartfelt. Others seem more like half apologies. Or even non-apologies.
As previously highlighted in our blogs, there seem to be more corporate apologies than ever.
But many are not good.
If your organisation needs to apologise, how should you do it?
Here are some of the tips from our crisis communication courses.
Avoid ‘if’
‘If’ a small word.
But it has an impact.
“If people have taken offence’, “If I’ve upset people”, “If I did”. These phrases all detract from the believability of an apology.
And they suggest you are not convinced you have done anything wrong.
And avoid ‘for any’
You should also avoid the phrase ‘for any’. It is another way of implying you feel you may not have done or said anything wrong. It can also be seen as an attempt to downplay the significance of what has happened.
It also just feels scripted and rehearsed.
Be human
A human tone is crucial for apologies to sound sincere.
It is one of the reasons the Paula Radcliffe apology stands out.
The words feel natural and genuine.
Apologies full of corporate speak or which look like they have been put together by lawyers and advisers never have the same impact.
Put the apology first
When you need to apologise, start by saying sorry.
All too often, ‘sorry’ is lost in the middle or included right at the end.
Sometimes, ‘sorry’ seems to be too hard a word to say, and we have variations of phrases like “I/We would like to apologise.”
If you need to apologise, say ‘sorry’ and say it first.
Don’t be vague
Apologies regularly contain vague language and go to great lengths to avoid saying what has happened.
We’ve all seen and heard “apologise for any inconvenience” or “apologise for any misunderstanding” apologies. And references to “an incident”.
Be specific and address what the problem is rather than trying to talk around it.
Show you care
During our crisis communication courses, we use the CARE (Compassion, Action, Reassurance and Examples) acronym to show how organisations should respond when things go wrong.
We don’t put compassion first to make the acronym work.
As Theodore Roosevelt famously said: “No one cares how much you know until they know how much you care.”
Organisations must show concern and sympathy for those affected by what has happened or been said.
Putting people first in apologies and statements shows you understand the severity of what has happened and its impact.
Act quickly
Move quickly when you need to apologise. The faster you respond, the more control you have over the story.
The Olympics is always a marathon rather than a sprint. With plenty more events still to come, how many more apologies will we witness?
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