Celine Dion made a triumphant return on Friday with a very public performance, closing the Opening Ceremony of the Paris Olympic Games by the Eiffeltower.
Almost two years after she revealed her secret diagnosis of stiff person syndromeDion sang Edith Piaf’s “Hymne à l’amour” (“Hymn to Love”) as the finale of the roughly four-hour spectacle. Her performance had been announced for weeks, but organizers and Dion’s representatives refused to confirm whether she would perform.
On a page devoted to Dior’s contributions to the opening ceremony, the media guide spoke of “a world star, for a purely grandiose, beautifully sparkling finale.”
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Dion was absent from the stage since 2020, when the coronavirus pandemic forced her to postpone her tour until 2022. That tour was eventually put on hold following her diagnosis.
The rare neurological disorder causes stiff muscles and painful spasms, affecting 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 would require therapy, “physical, mental, emotional, vocal.”
“That’s why it’s taking a while. But definitely why we’re doing this, because I’m back a little bit,” she said at the time.
Even before the documentary’s release, Dion had already taken steps toward a comeback. In February, she made a surprise appearance at the Grammy Awards, where she presented the final award of the evening to a standing ovation.
For Friday’s performance, Dion’s pearl outfit was designed by Dior. The director of the Paris Organizing Committee for Ceremony Design and Costumes, Daphne Bürki, spoke on French television of Dion’s excitement for the opportunity.
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“When we called Celine Dion a year ago, she immediately said yes,” said Bürki.
Dion is actually French Canadian — she is originally from Quebec — but she has strong ties to France and the Olympics. Dion’s first language is French and she has dominated the charts in France and other French-speaking countries.
She also won the 1988 Eurovision Song Contest with a French-language song, representing Switzerland. And early in her English-language career—even before “My Heart Will Go On” from “Titanic”—she was asked to sing “The Power of The Dream,” the theme song for the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.
Dion’s song choice also evoked a sports connection: Piaf wrote it about her lover, boxer Marcel Cerdan. Cerdan died in a plane crash shortly after she wrote the song.
