Celine Dion is reportedly gearing up to make her on-stage return at the Paris Olympics’ opening ceremony later this week – read on to find out more.
On Monday (July 22), the Canadian icon was spotted arriving in Paris, France, and is said to be staying in the same hotel as Lady Gaga, who is also rumoured to be performing at the opening ceremony on Friday (July 26).
Céline Dion signing autographs and taking pictures with her fans in Paris pic.twitter.com/6sw7q3Tj2Y
— celine vocals (@CelineOracle) July 24, 2024
CELINE DION AT PARIS 2024?
The rumours and reports are circulating. Canadian superstar Celine Dion to perform at the Opening Ceremony for Paris 2024. What a triumphant return it would be.
She performed The Power of the Dream 28 years ago at the 1996 Olympics opening ceremony. pic.twitter.com/uEyBjzdiym
— Devin Heroux (@Devin_Heroux) July 21, 2024
According to a Variety report, Dion is poised to perform at the opening ceremony, though details surrounding her performance remain under wraps. Dion’s involvement has yet to be officially confirmed by the Olympics committee.
Celine Dion is back in Paris and doing something she hasn’t been able to do in years: greet fans outside of her hotel in Paris.
It’s long been a tradition for her when she’s in Paris during the summer to spend time outside her hotel taking selfies and signing autographs.
She… pic.twitter.com/BOcjI1Sg7k
— Yashar Ali
(@yashar) July 23, 2024
Should the rumours come true, it will mark Dion’s first performance in years. The singer, who recently released her new documentary I Am: Celine Dion on June 25, was diagnosed with Stiff Person Syndrome in 2022, causing her to reschedule and cancel planned tours. The disorder primarily affects the brain and spinal cord and causes muscle stiffness, posture problems and sensory issues, as well as painful spasms.
In 1996, Dion also performed at the Atlanta Olympics, where she delivered a performance of ‘The Power of the Dream’.
Dion had previously demonstrated what happens when she tries to sing, which resulted in her crying. In the documentary, Dion can be seen telling camera people: “When I try to breathe, my lungs are fine; it’s what is in front of my lungs that’s so rigid, because of Stiff Person Syndrome.” She then demonstrated what happened when she tried to sing, where her voice began to crack.
She then said whilst crying: “That’s what happens and it’s very difficult for me to show this to you. I think I was very good… I think I had some stuff that was amazing.”
The singer has previously said, in a post on Instagram, that her stiff person syndrome diagnosis was “one of the hardest experiences” of her life in a post on Instagram, adding that she was trying to “live as normal of a life as possible”. “Trying to overcome this autoimmune disorder has been one of the hardest experiences of my life, but I remain determined to one day get back onto the stage.”
Prior to her sighting in Paris and the premiere of her documentary, Dion’s last public appearance was at the 2024 Grammys, where she presented the Album of the Year award to Taylor Swift.
The post Olympics 2024: Celine Dion rumoured for opening ceremony performance appeared first on NME.
