Celine Dion performs at Olympics for first time since suffering from stiff person syndrome
Celine Dion is back on stage.
Two years after first going public with her stiff person syndrome diagnosis and cancelling all her performances, the singer made her comeback performance at the Olympic Games opening ceremony.
After the lighting of the Olympic torch, Dion belted out Edith Piaf's French ballad “Hymne a l'amour” beneath the illuminated Eiffel Tower and Olympic logo. Wearing a glittering dress and accompanied only by piano, she hit her signature high notes. After the performance, Kelly Clarkson, co-host of NBC's Paris Opening Ceremony coverage, grew emotional while talking about the moment, praising Dion's performance and strength.
Canadian singer Celine Dion performs at the Eiffel Tower to close the Opening Ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games on July 26, 2024. Hector Vivas/Getty Images
Following her performance, Dion posted on her Twitter handle X: “I was honored to perform at the Paris 2024 Opening Ceremony tonight. I'm so happy to be back in one of my favorite cities! Most of all, I'm so excited to celebrate these incredible athletes, with their stories of sacrifice and determination, pain and perseverance. You've all been so focused on your dreams, and whether you bring home a medal or not, being here means your dreams have come true, I hope! You should all be so proud. We know how hard you've worked to be the best you can be. Stay focused and keep going. My heart is with you all!”
This was Dion's second time performing at the Olympics, having previously performed “The Power of the Dream” at the Atlanta Games in 1996. The Olympics' official Twitter account shared a video of Dion's first performance since her return to the Olympics.
The moment marked her first public performance since her diagnosis and a notable comeback for the singer. Dion first announced her diagnosis when she postponed her Las Vegas show until 2022 and then canceled the North American legs of her “Courage” world tour. She postponed her European dates to 2023 and 2024, but ultimately canceled those as well.
According to the Mayo Clinic, stiff-person syndrome is “an autoimmune disease of the nervous system” that “often causes progressive and severe muscle stiffness and spasms in the legs and back.” There is no cure for the condition.
In June, Dion said the condition made her feel “like someone was choking me” when she tried to sing. “It felt like someone was pushing on my larynx. When I was talking like that, I couldn't sing high or low. I would have spasms.”
“I wish I could find a miracle, find a cure through scientific research, but for now I have to live with the disease,” Dion told French Vogue in May. She also said she undergoes “exercise therapy, physical therapy, voice therapy” five days a week to limit the effects of the disease. “I train my toes, my knees, my calves, my fingers, my singing, my voice… For now I have to live with the disease and I have to stop questioning myself.”
The “My Heart Will Go On” singer recently revealed that she had noticed she was having difficulty controlling her voice since around 2008. But it took a pandemic-induced hiatus in 2020, after numerous concert tours and a Las Vegas performance, for doctors to finally carry out the necessary investigations to pinpoint her illness.
Lexy Perez contributed to this report.
