Inside Celine Dion’s comeback at the Paris Olympics

Celine Dion has made a triumphant comeback, singing live from the Eiffel Tower at the Olympics 2024 Opening Ceremony in Paris. We take a look at her journey as she hopes to perform in front of a live audience again.

Prime Video's recent film I Am: Celine Dion documented the star's struggle with stiff person syndrome (SPS), a rare neurological disorder which causes muscular rigidity and stiffness, and how it has impacted her ability to sing.

The Canadian celebrity went public with her diagnosis in December 2022 but she has had to continue to postpone her tour dates throughout 2023 and 2024. Never losing hope of performing in front of her fans, the singer has remained determined to return to the stage to perform.

Read more: Celine Dion Poised to Make Comeback Performance at Paris Olympics (Variety, 2-min read)

Dion made her first public appearance in nearly four years in October last year. She was seen at the National Hockey League game between the Vegas Golden Knights and her hometown team, the Montreal Canadiens.

Hoping for a breakthrough, in April, she told 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. My goal is to see the Eiffel Tower again!"

This week, Dion touched down in Paris on Monday at the Royal Monceau hotel near the Champs-Elysees, in France. Her appearance sparked speculation that Dion would be returning to the stage sooner than anyone had expected after the release of her Prime Video documentary film.

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Celine Dion wants to return to stage

In recent weeks, Dion's doctor Dr Amanda Piquet spoke to Yahoo UK about the star's determination to return to the stage.

They have been working together for two years; Dion has pledged $2m (£1.6m) to advance autoimmune neurologic disorders research at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, where Dr Piquet is the director of the autoimmune neurology programme.

Dr Piquet said Dion is "working incredibly hard" to get back to what she loves doing: singing in front of a live audience. "I can tell you like many of my patients with the stiff person's syndrome, she is working incredibly hard," she said. "She is determined. She is working incredibly hard to get back on that stage."

She added: "She is an incredible inspiration to her fans and her life is singing and I think that's very clear that's her identity in the documentary. And so being able to get back to what she loves to do, that's what she needs. That defines her."

This echoed Dion's hopes in I Am: Celine Dion as she vowed never to give up trying to sing again. The musician said in a piece to camera: "If I can't run, I'll walk, and if I can't walk, I'll crawl but I won’t stop. I won’t stop."

Celine Dion's struggle to sing

I Am: Celine Dion is a raw, honest account of the singer's struggles with SPS. One heartbreaking moment from the documentary showed Dion struggling to sing. She said: "When I try to breathe my lungs are fine it’s what in front of my lungs are so rigid because of SPS."

In gut-wrenching scenes, the singer sobbed when she is unable to sing like she used to. She said to the camera: "That’s what happens, and it’s very difficult for me to hear that and to show this to you. I don’t want people to hear that."

Reflecting on her career in the film, she sobbed: "I think I was very good, I think I had some stuff that was amazing. But there’s been moments where I had to go to the studio and I knew they wanted Celine Dion. Celine Dion is the one who sang all by myself anymore to the highest note ever. She’s the best."

Speaking about the documentary film, Dion said singing felt "like somebody is strangling you" in an interview with NBC's Hoda Kotb. "It's like someone’s pushing your larynx this way," she explained.

Her doctor explained to Yahoo about why SPS affects singing. "When you sing there's a lot of chest expansions that goes into that," she said. "It's not uncommon to see the stiff person syndrome muscle spasms that occur in the chest, the back and the belly."

She further explained: "You can imagine if you are having stiffness and muscle spasms involving your chest and around the ribs, you can't bring in the air into those lungs and make that same kind of singing quality. So she's been struggling with a lot of spasms in the chest and that's been a big impact and then vocal cords themselves, that's all muscle movement in the throat and coordinating those muscle movements."

Cancelling tour dates

The last time Dion was on stage was during her Courage World Tour in March 2020. The superstar had performed the first 52 dates of her world tour in North America. Then the COVID pandemic hit in 2020.

As the world returned to normal, Dion went public with her SPS diagnosis in December 2022 and she rescheduled the European leg of her Courage World Tour. Since then, the songstress hasn't returned to the stage and in May last year Dion cancelled all of her remaining tour dates for 2023 and 2024 as she continues her treatment.

She said in a statement: "I'm working really hard to build back my strength, but touring can be very difficult even when you're 100 percent. It's not fair to you to keep postponing the shows, and even though it breaks my heart, it's best that we cancel everything now until I'm really ready to be back on stage again. I want you all to know, I'm not giving up... and I can't wait to see you again."

It is clear that Dion has not lost hope of performing one day.

Celine Dion in Paris

On Tuesday, 23 July, Celine Dion was filmed greeting fans outside the Royal Monceau in Paris ahead of the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games on Friday. The Grammy-winner was seen smiling as she waved at fans and signed autographs outside the hotel.

Although not yet confirmed, the singer is rumoured to be receiving a $2m fee for the performing at the opening ceremony, with Lady Gaga also set to sing.

French President Emmanuel Macron says he would be "immensely happy" if Canadian singer Celine Dion attended the Paris Olympics 2024 opening ceremony. When asked about the news, Mr Macron told France 2 in French: "Apparently, she (Dion) has arrived in Paris. It’s great."

When asked about her participating in the ceremony, Mr Macron said it would be "fantastic news" if she did, because Dion is "a great artist". He added: "I would be immensely happy if she could be at this opening ceremony, like all our compatriots."

When pressed by the journalist, he said: "I will not reveal anything, what (Paris Olympics artistic director) Thomas Jolly and all his teams have prepared. There is also a surprise."

He also said: "I am not responsible for his schedule."

The latest reports suggest Dion will be performing Edith Piaf's classic La Vie en Rose as a duet with Lady Gaga during the opening ceremony.

The opening ceremony of the 2024 Paris Olympics will air on BBC One on Friday.

This article originally appeared on Yahoo TV UK at https://uk.news.yahoo.com/celine-dion-performing-paris-olympics-2024-113012347.html