Celine Dion has shared her heartfelt experience of returning to the stage at the 2024 Paris Olympics opening ceremony after being diagnosed with Stiff-Person Syndrome. The iconic singer posted a series of images on Instagram, capturing her performance of “Hymne a l’Amour” by Édith Piaf under the Eiffel Tower during the event.
“I’m honored to have performed tonight, for the Paris 2024 Opening Ceremony, and so full of joy to be back in one of my very favorite cities,” Dion expressed. “Most of all, I’m so happy to be celebrating these amazing athletes, with all their stories of sacrifice and determination, pain and perseverance.” She continued, “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 moving performance follows Dion’s December 2022 announcement of her Stiff-Person Syndrome diagnosis, which led to the postponement of her Courage tour dates and Las Vegas residency. By May 2023, she had canceled the remainder of the tour.
Stiff-Person Syndrome is an autoimmune disorder of the nervous system that often leads to severe muscle stiffness and spasms, particularly in the lower extremities and back, according to the Mayo Clinic.
In a June interview with Today, Dion revealed that singing with Stiff-Person Syndrome feels like “somebody is strangling you.” She elaborated, “It’s like someone is pushing your larynx. It is like you are talking like that, and you cannot go high or lower. It gets into a spasm.”
That same month, her documentary I Am: Celine Dion premiered on Prime Video. Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter at the New York City premiere, Dion emphasized her desire for the film to offer hope to those struggling.
“A lot of people in the world are suffering or alone and wondering, and I hope that this documentary gives an opportunity to people, first of all, to let them know that I am here as a mother, as an artist, as a woman, as an ambassador in a way of I want to help people,” she said. “A lot of people are looking into a bag of empty hope, and it’s pretty dark, and I felt like that for a long time until I realized that this is not living. That’s not even dying. This is just being still, and I didn’t want that anymore. I don’t think I deserved that.”
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