Celine Dion has returned to the stage.
Two years after first revealing her Stiff-Particular person Syndrome analysis and canceling all performances, the singer made her comeback efficiency in the course of the Olympics opening ceremony.
After the Olympic torch lighting, Dion carried out a strong rendition of French ballad “Hymne a l’Amour” by Édith Piaf underneath the lit Eiffel Tower and Olympics emblem. Donning a glittery gown and accompanied by only a piano, the singer delivered her signature excessive notes. After the efficiency, Kelly Clarkson, who was co-hosting NBC’s Paris opening ceremony protection, was emotional when talking concerning the second and praised Dion for her efficiency and energy.
Canadian singer Celine Dion performs on the Eiffel Tower because the conclusion of the opening ceremony of the Olympic Video games Paris 2024 on July 26, 2024.
Hector Vivas/Getty Photos
Following her efficiency, Dion wrote on X (previously Twitter), “I’m honored to have carried out tonight, for the Paris 2024 Opening Ceremony, and so filled with pleasure to be again in one among my very favourite cities! Most of all, I’m so completely happy to be celebrating these superb athletes, with all their tales of sacrifice and dedication, ache and perseverance. All of you could have been so centered in your dream, and whether or not or not you’re taking dwelling a medal, I hope that being right here signifies that it has come true for you! It is best to all be so proud, we all know how arduous you could have labored to be the perfect of the perfect. Keep centered, preserve going, my coronary heart is with you!”
The efficiency marked Dion’s second time performing on the Olympic Video games, having carried out “The Energy of the Dream” in Atlanta in 1996. The Olympic Video games’ official Twitter account shared footage from Dion’s first Olympics efficiency following her return.
The second marked a notable comeback for the singer, as her first public efficiency after her analysis. Dion first introduced her analysis in 2022 when she delayed her Las Vegas residency after which canceled the North American leg of her Braveness world tour. She pushed the dates of her European exhibits to 2023 and 2024 earlier than in the end canceling them as nicely.
Stiff-Particular person Syndrome is an “autoimmune dysfunction of the nervous system,” per the Mayo Clinic, “typically leading to progressive, extreme muscle stiffness and spasms of the decrease extremities and again.” There isn’t any remedy for the situation.
In June, Dion mentioned the illness makes it really feel “like any person is strangling you” when she tries to sing, “like somebody is pushing your larynx. It’s like you might be speaking like that, and you can not go excessive or decrease. It will get right into a spasm.”
In Could, Dion instructed Vogue France that she hoped to “discover a miracle, a solution to remedy it with scientific analysis, however for now, I’ve to study to dwell with it.” She additionally famous that she undergoes “athletic, bodily and vocal remedy” 5 days per week to counteract the results of her illness. “I work on my toes, my knees, my calves, my fingers, my singing, my voice … I’ve to study to dwell with it now and cease questioning myself.”
The “My Coronary heart Will Go On” singer additionally lately revealed she first had an inkling that controlling her voice had change into troublesome way back to 2008. However, after her many live performance excursions and a Las Vegas residency, it took being sidelined by the pandemic in 2020 to permit medical doctors to lastly do the detective work required to precisely establish her sickness.
Lexy Perez contributed to this report.
