Current:Home > ScamsCeline Dion makes musical comeback at Paris Olympics with Eiffel Tower serenade -LegacyCapital
Celine Dion makes musical comeback at Paris Olympics with Eiffel Tower serenade
View
Date:2025-04-18 13:01:30
PARIS (AP) — Celine Dion made a triumphant return Friday with a very public performance: closing out the Paris Olympics’ opening ceremony from the Eiffel Tower.
Nearly two years after revealing her stiff person syndrome diagnosis, Dion belted Edith Piaf’s “Hymne à l’amour” (“Hymn to Love”) as the finale of the roughly four-hour spectacle. Her appearance had been teased for weeks, but organizers and Dion’s representatives had refused to confirm whether she was performing.
On a page dedicated to Dior’s contributions to the opening ceremony, the media guide referred to “a world star, for a purely grandiose, superbly scintillating finale.”
This photo released by the Olympic Broadcasting Services shows Canadian Singer Celine Dion performing at the Eiffel Tower during the opening ceremony for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, France, Friday, July 26, 2024. (Olympic Broadcasting Services via AP)
Dion had been absent from the stage since 2020, when the coronavirus pandemic forced the postponement of her tour to 2022. That tour was eventually suspended in the wake of her diagnosis.
The rare neurological disorder causes rigid muscles and painful muscle spasms, which were 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 required therapy, “physically, mentally, emotionally, vocally.”
“So that’s why it takes a while. But absolutely why we’re doing this because I’m already a little bit back,” she said then.
Even before the documentary’s release, Dion had taken steps toward 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.
For Friday’s performance, Dion’s pearl outfit was indeed designed by Dior. Speaking on French television, the Paris organizing committee’s director of design and costume for ceremonies, Daphné Bürki, recalled Dion’s enthusiasm for the opportunity.
“When we called Celine Dion one year ago she said yes straight away,” Bürki said.
Dion is not actually French — the French Canadian is from Quebec — but she has a strong connection to the country 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 tapped to perform “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 soon after she wrote the song, in a plane crash.
___
Associated Press reporters Sylvie Corbet, Jerome Pugmire and Samuel Petrequin contributed.
___
For more coverage of the Paris Olympics, visit https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games.
veryGood! (981)
Related
- Which apps offer encrypted messaging? How to switch and what to know after feds’ warning
- Q&A: Nolan and Villeneuve on ‘Tenet’ returning to theaters and why ‘Dune 2’ will be shown on film
- Georgia Senate passes bill to revive oversight panel that critics say is aimed at Trump prosecution
- King Charles III's cancer was caught early, U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak says
- Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, Hi Hi!
- 3 shot dead on beaches in Acapulco, including one by gunmen who arrived — and escaped — by boat
- Preliminary NTSB report on Boeing 737 Max 9 Alaska Airlines flight finds missing bolts led to mid-air door blowout
- A booming bourbon industry has Kentucky leaders toasting record growth
- Michigan lawmaker who was arrested in June loses reelection bid in Republican primary
- Travis Kelce Addresses Taylor Swift Engagement Speculation Ahead of 2024 Super Bowl
Ranking
- Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear ready to campaign for Harris-Walz after losing out for spot on the ticket
- Ariana Madix Reveals Surprising Change of Heart About Marriage and Kids
- Honda recalls more than 750,000 vehicles for airbag issue: Here's what models are affected
- Brittany Cartwright Reveals Where She and Stassi Schroeder Stand After Rift
- NCAA President Charlie Baker would be 'shocked' if women's tournament revenue units isn't passed
- Can an employer fire or layoff employees without giving a reason? Ask HR
- Scientists rely on private funding to push long COVID research forward
- King Charles has cancer and we don’t know what kind. How we talk about it matters.
Recommendation
British golfer Charley Hull blames injury, not lack of cigarettes, for poor Olympic start
Toby Keith wrote 20 top songs in 20 years. Here’s a look at his biggest hits.
House will vote on Homeland Security secretary impeachment: How did we get here, what does it mean?
Endangered panther killed by train in South Florida, marking 5th such fatality this year
Taylor Swift Eras Archive site launches on singer's 35th birthday. What is it?
We Found the Best Affordable Jewelry on Amazon That Looks High End
Coke hopes to excite younger drinkers with new raspberry-flavored Coca-Cola Spiced
Christian McCaffrey Weighs in on Fiancée Olivia Culpo and Mom Lisa McCaffrey’s Super Bowl Suite Clash