Celine Dion stunned viewers all over the world with a performance from the Eiffel Tower in Paris during the Olympics opening ceremony – the first since revealing she suffers from stiff person syndrome (SPS).
The Canadian superstar sparkled in a beaded gown as she sang an incredible rendition of Edith Piaf’s L’Hymne A L’Amour.
The 56-year-old appeared on the first stage of the Eiffel Tower as an estimated one billion people watched the elaborate opening ceremony for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Dion hadn’t performed since 2021, when she cancelled her Las Vegas residency due to health concerns, before revealing her SPS diagnosis in December 2022 and cancelling her Courage World Tour.
Dion sang Edith Piaf’s L’Hymne A L’Amour. Pic: Reuters
Last month, Dion revealed she took life-threatening doses of diazepam to help ease muscle spasms so she could perform on stage.
SPS is a rare neurological disorder that causes progressive muscular stiffness, which can cause spasms so strong that can break ribs and feel like strangulation of the throat, she has said previously.
Dion performed on the first stage of the iconic tower. Pic: Reuters
Her struggles are documented in her 2024 documentary I Am: Celine Dion, in which she spoke about her desire to return to performing.
After her rendition in Paris on Friday, Dion said it was her “supreme honour” to perform at the event, which saw about 10,500 athletes sail the iconic Seine river.
On X, the singer said: “I feel so completely grateful to have been asked to open the Paris @Olympics 2024 this year.
“I am also humbled to be asked by the Olympics organising committee to sing such a special French song-a song to honour the French people and their tremendous history of art, music, and theatre.”
The superstar put a sublime end to an elaborate opening ceremony. Pic: AP
She went on to say she has “always felt a very special connection” with French people and their music.
“I wanted nothing more than to create a performance that would warm the heart of France, celebrate French art and music, and on such a momentous occasion remind everyone of one of the most magical cities on earth – Paris,” Dion said.
The singer went on to detail how she “brushed up on some old skills” and “rehearsed tirelessly to study a joyful French dance” to go with her performance.
“I bet you didn’t know I used to dance at a ’60s French party on the lower east side when I was first starting out,” she added.
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Lady Gaga rehearsing along the Seine ahead of the opening ceremony. Pic: PA
Earlier in the ceremony US singer Lady Gaga surprised viewers by singing in French during her performance of the classic Mon Truc En Plume.
Dion, whose best-known hits include My Heart Will Go On, Think Twice, Because You Loved Me, and It’s All Coming Back To Me Now, has sold more than 250 million albums during her 40-year career, earning five Grammys, two Oscars and the Billboard Music Award lifetime achievement icon award.