Céline Dion has been battling stiff person syndrome since December 2022. Though her illness has progressed over the last 18 months, the “My Heart Will Go On” hitmaker has had her heart set on returning to her beloved music career. And what better place is there to make a singing comeback than the 2024 Paris Olympics, where millions of people will see Céline shine? The singer arrived in the City of Love ahead of the Summer Games, sparking rumors that she would be taking the stage.
Did Celine Dion Perform at the 2024 Paris Olympics?
Céline made an epic comeback at the opening ceremony on July 26, 2024. She was moved to tears as she sang Édith Piaf’s “Hymne A L’Amour” under a sparkling Eiffel Tower.
Three days before her performance, Céline arrived at the Royal Monceau hotel near the Champs-Élysées in Paris on July 23, 2024, according to multiple reports. The five-time Grammy winner appeared to be in great spirits and looked stylish in a black blazer with matching pants and a white button-down, as seen in photos published by Daily Mail.
Though Céline and her team remained tightlipped about plans to perform at the Paris Olympics, Variety reported that she was rumored to be a headliner for the opening ceremony.
Today host Hoda Kotb previously sparked speculation about Céline’s involvement in the Paris Olympics during a July 9, 2024, appearance on Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen, where she dished on a suspicious moment during her June 2024 interview with the Queen of Power Ballads.
“I was like, ‘So what’s going on? When are you performing again?’ And she goes, ‘Can I tell her?’” Hoda told Andy. ”And her manager goes, ‘No!’ He screams, ‘No.’ I was like, there’s something.”
Hoda’s Today cohost Savannah Guthrie chimed in after a fan suggested the Summer Games, “It has to be the Paris Olympics. That would be incredible.”
Céline herself even seemed to drop a hint about her singing comeback happening at the Paris Olympics during an April 2024 interview with Vogue France.
“I’ve chosen to work with all my body and soul, from head to toe, with a medical team. I want to be the best I can be,” she said before adding, “My goal is to see the Eiffel Tower again!”
Celine Dion Has Wanted to Make a Singing Comeback
After fighting her illness for nearly two years, Céline has made it clear that she’s ready to do whatever it takes to get back on stage. In her June 11, 2024, interview with Hoda, which aired on NBC ahead of the June 25 premiere of her Prime Video documentary, I Am: Céline Dion, the “All By Myself” songstress vowed to sing again.
“What did this disease take away from you?” Hoda asked.
“It didn’t take anything away from me. I’m going to go back onstage, even if I have to crawl. Even if I have to talk with my hands, I will. I will,” Céline replied. “I am Céline Dion, because today my voice will be heard for the first time, not just because I have to, or because I need to. It’s because I want to and I miss it.”
What Illness Does Celine Dion Have?
Céline announced in December 2022 that she was diagnosed with stiff person syndrome (SPS), a rare and progressive neurological disorder that causes rigid muscles and painful spasms. She was ultimately forced to cancel her 2023 and 2024 Courage World Tour as a result of her condition.
“All I know is singing. It’s what I’ve done all my life and it’s what I love to do the most. I miss you so much. I miss seeing all of you, being on the stage performing for you. I always give a hundred percent when I do my shows, but my condition is not allowing me to give you that right now,” she said in a video.
In her interview with Hoda, Céline revealed what it was like to sing as her disease progressed.
“It’s like somebody is strangling you. It’s like somebody is pushing your larynx/pharynx this way,” she said, demonstrating. “It was like talking like that, and you cannot go high or lower. It gets into a spasm. It can also be in the abdominal, can be in the spine, can be in the ribs.”
