Celine Dion is back! Spectacular Olympic performance marks return to podium

Céline Dion knows how to make a comeback.

The Quebec singer returned to the stage for the first time in nearly four years on Friday, but it wasn’t just any stage: The pop diva had chosen the opening ceremony of the 2024 Paris Olympics, atop the Eiffel Tower, as the venue for her first performance since announcing to the world that she had been diagnosed with Stiff Person Syndrome (SPS) and canceled her world tour.

Dressed in a stunning, beaded, floor-length, fringed gown and a long cape, Dion took to the Eiffel Tower’s first stage to perform a Parisian classic: Édith Piaf’s The song of love.

Dion seemed overcome with emotion at times as the crowd below cheered, but she performed as strongly as ever, her voice clear and unwavering as she hit every note with conviction.

In the run-up to the opening ceremony, Dion’s much-anticipated performance was a poorly kept, often teased and tongue-in-cheek secret.

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French President Emmanuel Macron told television channel France 2 that the singer would participate in the Olympic Games.

“I will not reveal anything, what [opening ceremony director] “Thomas Jolly and all his teams have prepared,” Macron said, but acknowledged that the singer had arrived in his city earlier this week and that Olympic fans were in for a “surprise.”

Dion herself hasn’t been shy about posting about her return to the City of Light. Since arriving in Paris, she’s been keeping her fans updated on social media and has been spotted out and about in the city.

“Every time I come back to Paris, I remember that there so much beauty and joy “There is still something to experience in the world,” she shared with X on Wednesday.

Following the release of her documentary last month, I am Celineshe told TVA’s Jean-Philippe Dion that a spasm in her throat during her Taking Chances tour in 2008 marked the beginning of what she described as “17 years of panic” as she tried to understand what was happening to her body and the voice that has made her a global name.

She lost the ability to reliably hit her notes as the spasms continued and she tried everything from steam to asthma treatments to powerful medications. She even learned to modify her songs by changing her singing style, but the stress of wanting to perform made her tense and worsened her symptoms. After years of “lying,” she said she made the decision to face her illness.

— with files from Sean Previl of Global News

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