Current:Home > ScamsCeline Dion makes musical comeback at Paris Olympics with Eiffel Tower serenade -Ascend Finance Compass
Celine Dion makes musical comeback at Paris Olympics with Eiffel Tower serenade
Johnathan Walker View
Date:2025-04-11 07:36:34
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! (1481)
Related
- South Korea's acting president moves to reassure allies, calm markets after Yoon impeachment
- Lil Rod breaks silence on lawsuit against Sean 'Diddy' Combs: 'I'm being punished'
- Vanderpump Rules’ Brittany Cartwright Hints at New Chapter After Filing for Divorce From Jax Taylor
- Want Thicker, Fuller Hair? These Are the Top Hair Growth Treatments, According to an Expert
- Angelina Jolie nearly fainted making Maria Callas movie: 'My body wasn’t strong enough'
- Golden Globes tap Nikki Glaser to be the telecast’s next host
- Defense seeks to undermine accuser’s credibility in New Hampshire youth center sex abuse case
- Fantasy football: Ranking 5 best value plays in 2024 drafts
- Hackers hit Rhode Island benefits system in major cyberattack. Personal data could be released soon
- 80-year-old man dies after falling off boat on the Grand Canyon's Colorado River
Ranking
- Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow owns a $3 million Batmobile Tumbler
- Nvidia is Wall Street’s 2nd-most valuable company. How it keeps beating expectations, by the numbers
- In Final Rock Springs Resource Management Plan, BLM Sticks With Conservation Priorities, Renewable Energy Development
- Railroad BNSF stresses safety but is still held back by longstanding industry issues, report finds
- Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, Triathlon
- Who aced the NHL offseason? Grading all 32 teams on their moves
- Trump campaign was warned not to take photos at Arlington before altercation, defense official says
- Questions about the safety of Tesla’s ‘Full Self-Driving’ system are growing
Recommendation
Pressure on a veteran and senator shows what’s next for those who oppose Trump
'Lord of the Rings' series 'The Rings of Power' is beautiful but empty in Season 2
Jeremy Allen White models Calvin Klein underwear in new campaign: See the photos
As football starts, carrier fee dispute pits ESPN vs. DirecTV: What it could mean for fans
SFO's new sensory room helps neurodivergent travelers fight flying jitters
Biden plans to travel to Wisconsin next week to highlight energy policies and efforts to lower costs
Out-of-state law firms boost campaign cash of 2 Democratic statewide candidates in Oregon
Court revives Sarah Palin’s libel lawsuit against The New York Times