Twitter Compared The Olympics Opening Ceremony To 'The Hunger Games' And Wow, Yes

After the opening ceremony of the 2021 Summer Olympic Games began, people started to notice a strange coincidence. The opening reminded people about a particular sci-fi drama, and maybe not in a good way, because these tweets about the Olympics opening ceremony are all comparing it to The Hunger Games. From tweets about Panem to iconic quotes like, “May the odds be ever in your favor,” you won’t be able to unsee the hilarious comparisons.

The opening ceremony of the Olympics began with a stylized dance representing the struggles with the coronavirus pandemic, including red string used to symbolize the body’s inner workings. The divided areas throughout the routine brought Panem to mind for some, and other comparisons began hitting Twitter, too.

For a refresher, The Hunger Games sees Panem divided into 12 different districts and a Capitol that rules those districts — plus a set of teens and young adults fighting to the death. Although there was no Katniss Everdeen present in the Olympic Games opening ceremony, the visual imagery that contrasted a stark white, darkness, and red probably sparked the idea. It also didn’t help that the stadium was nearly empty since the International Olympic Committee announced no fans would be allowed to attend the Olympics after Tokyo reported 1,832 new COVID-19 cases on July 21.

Fans saw similarities to the movie pretty quickly, and a ton of people began tweeting similar jokes:

One person wondered if The Hunger Games was inspired by the Olympics opening ceremonies of the past:

Someone said it was the music in the opening ceremony that really reminded them of The Hunger Games:

Other people brought up the fact that the Olympics are being scrutinized due to the ongoing COVID-19 issues, like the current state of emergency in Tokyo, the increase in cases, and the low vaccination rate in Japan. After being delayed for a full year, many are still unhappy that the Games are moving forward, and the decision is very controversial.

People are also throwing out some great memes comparing the Olympics to the movie:

In addition to the stadium and performances reminding people of The Hunger Games, some also noticed how jarring the commentary was throughout the visuals. After the initial performance portion, which also featured some interpretations of traditional Japanese performing arts, each country walked into the stadium in the traditional flag bearing ceremony wearing themed outfits.

Although the Olympics opening ceremony hardcore reminded fans of The Hunger Games, hopefully, there won’t be any more similarities to Panem once the actual competitions are underway.