Celine Dion Gives First Public Performance at Olympics Opening Ceremony Since Stiff-Person Syndrome Diagnosis
Celine Dion has returned to the stage.
Two years after first revealing her Stiff-Person Syndrome diagnosis and canceling all performances, the singer made her comeback performance during the Olympics opening ceremony.
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After the Olympic torch lighting, Dion performed a powerful rendition of French ballad “Hymne a l’Amour” by édith Piaf under the lit Eiffel Tower and Olympics logo. Donning a sparkly dress and accompanied by just a piano, the singer delivered her signature high notes. After the performance, Kelly Clarkson, who was co-hosting NBC’s Paris opening ceremony coverage, was emotional when speaking about the moment and praised Dion for her performance and strength.
Following her performance, Dion wrote on X (formerly Twitter), “I’m honored to have performed tonight, for the Paris 2024 Opening Ceremony, and so full of joy to be back in one of my very favorite cities! Most of all, I’m so happy to be celebrating these amazing athletes, with all their stories of sacrifice and determination, pain and perseverance. All of you have been so focused on your dream, and whether or not you take home a medal, I hope that being here means that it has come true for you! You should all be so proud, we know how hard you have worked to be the best of the best. Stay focused, keep going, my heart is with you!”
The performance marked Dion’s second time performing at the Olympic Games, having performed “The Power of the Dream” in Atlanta in 1996. The Olympic Games’ official Twitter account shared footage from Dion’s first Olympics performance following her return.
The moment marked a notable comeback for the singer, as her first public performance after her diagnosis. Dion first announced her diagnosis in 2022 when she delayed her Las Vegas residency and then canceled the North American leg of her Courage world tour. She pushed the dates of her European shows to 2023 and 2024 before ultimately canceling them as well.
Stiff-Person Syndrome is an “autoimmune disorder of the nervous system,” per the Mayo Clinic, “often resulting in progressive, severe muscle stiffness and spasms of the lower extremities and back.” There is no cure for the condition.
In June, Dion said the disease makes it feel “like somebody is strangling you” when she tries to sing, “like someone is pushing your larynx. It is like you are talking like that, and you cannot go high or lower. It gets into a spasm.”
In May, Dion told Vogue France that she hoped to “find a miracle, a way to cure it with scientific research, but for now, I have to learn to live with it.” She also noted that she undergoes “athletic, physical and vocal therapy” five days a week to counteract the effects of her disease. “I work on my toes, my knees, my calves, my fingers, my singing, my voice … I have to learn to live with it now and stop questioning myself.”
The “My Heart Will Go On” singer also recently revealed she first had an inkling that controlling her voice had become difficult as far back as 2008. But, after her many concert tours and a Las Vegas residency, it took being sidelined by the pandemic in 2020 to allow doctors to finally do the detective work required to accurately identify her illness.
Lexy Perez contributed to this report.
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