“I’m honoured to have performed tonight, for the Paris 2024 Opening Ceremony, and so full of joy to be back in one of my very favourite cities!” That’s Canadian singer, Céline Marie Claudette Dion, popularly known as Céline Dion, at the opening of the ongoing Paris Olympics which officially kicked off on Friday.
The world-renowned singer serenaded more than 300,000 spectators, including an estimated 6,800 athletes, in an emotional comeback from illness.
The Queen of Power Ballads, as Céline Dion is popularly called, has been battling stiff-person syndrome since January 2022, making her to cancel her North American tour dates because of severe muscle spasms that attend the rare illness.
On December 8 of that year, she announced she had been diagnosed with stiff-person syndrome, a rare neurological disease that affected every aspect of her life, including her vocal cords, while she also found it difficult to walk.
It was thus a testament to faith and determination that she could perform before an august crowd such as the Olympics.
Recall that Dion, in an interview with Hoda Kotb on the Today Show, had vowed that she wouldn’t let her Stiff Person Syndrome battle stop her from performing again.
She vowed that she would resume live performances even if she had to crawl to the stage and talk with her hands.
While introducing her performance at the global gathering, Dion praised the athletes for their dedication and hard work.
She wrote, “Most of all, I’m so happy to be celebrating these amazing athletes, with all their stories of sacrifice and determination, pain and perseverance.
“All of you have been so focused on your dream, and whether or not you take home a medal, I hope that being here means that it has come true for you!
“You should all be so proud, we know how hard you have worked to be the best of the best. Stay focused, keep going, my heart is with you!”
This performance marks Dion’s second appearance at the Olympic Games, having previously performed at the Atlanta 1996 Olympics.
TMZ reports that Dion was paid for her highly anticipated performance at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
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