PARIS (AP) — The doubt lingered until the end. Would Celine Dion appear at the Opening Ceremony of the 2024 Paris Olympics? Her health issues and a recent cold complicated the possibilities, but close to midnight, all eyes were on the Eiffel Tower and a bright and solitary figure, which provided the perfect conclusion to an inauguration that was much more cultural and artistic than sportive.
Celine Dion's return was triumphant, almost two years after revealing her diagnosis of stiff person syndrome.
The Canadian singer performed "Hymne à l'amour" ("Hymn to Love") by Edith Piaf as the finale of the approximately four-hour show. Dion had been absent from the stage since 2020, when the coronavirus pandemic forced her tour to be postponed to 2022. That tour was eventually canceled due to her diagnosis.
What disease affects Celine Dion?
The rare neurological disorder, which causes stiff muscles and painful muscle spasms, affected Dion's ability to walk and sing. In June, at the premiere of the documentary "I Am: Celine Dion," she told The Associated Press that returning required therapy, "physical, mental, emotional, and vocal."
Even before the documentary was released, Dion had taken steps towards a comeback. In February, she made another surprise appearance at the Grammy Awards, where she presented the final award of the night to a standing ovation.
How was your appearance at the Opening Ceremony of Paris 2024?
For Friday's performance, Dion's pearl outfit was designed by Dior. Speaking to French television, the design and wardrobe director for Paris' Organizing Committee, Daphné Bürki, recalled Dion's enthusiasm for the opportunity. "When we called Celine Dion a year ago, she immediately said yes," said Bürki.
Dion is not French, the French-Canadian is from Quebec, but she has a strong connection with the country and the Olympic Games.
Dion's mother tongue is French, and she has topped the charts in France and other French-speaking countries. She also won the Eurovision Song Contest in 1988 with a French song while representing Switzerland.
And at the beginning of her career in English, even before "My Heart Will Go On" from "Titanic," she was chosen to perform "The Power of The Dream," the main theme of the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.
The choice of Dion’s song also evoked a sports connection: Piaf wrote it about her lover, the boxer Marcel Cerdan, who died shortly after she composed the song in an airplane accident.