CELINE DION GIVES FIRST PUBLIC PERFORMANCE AMID STIFF-PERSON SYNDROME DIAGNOSIS AT OLYMPICS OPENING CEREMONY

Celine Dion has returned to the stage.

Two years after first revealing her Stiff-Person Syndrome diagnosis and canceling all performances, the singer made her comeback performance during the Olympics Opening Ceremony.

After the Olympic torch lighting, Dion performed a powerful French ballad "Hymne A L'Amour" by Edith Piaf under the lit Eiffel Tower and Olympics logo. Donning a sparkly dress and accompanied by just a piano, the singer delivered her notable high notes. After the performance, Kelly Clarkson, who was co-hosting the NBC broadcast of the ceremony was emotional and praised Dion for her performance.

The performance marked a notable comeback for the singer after Dion first announced her diagnosis in 2022 when she delayed her Las Vegas residency and then canceled the North American leg of her Courage world tour. She pushed the dates of her European shows to 2023 and 2024 before ultimately canceling them as well.

Stiff-Person Syndrome is an "autoimmune disorder of the nervous system," per the Mayo Clinic, "often resulting in progressive, severe muscle stiffness and spasms of the lower extremities and back." There is no cure for the condition.

In June, Dion said the disease makes it feel "like somebody is strangling you" when she tries to sing, "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."

In May, Dion told Vogue France that she hoped to "find a miracle, a way to cure it with scientific research, but for now, I have to learn to live with it." She also noted that she undergoes "athletic, physical and vocal therapy" five days a week to counteract the effects of her disease. "I work on my toes, my knees, my calves, my fingers, my singing, my voice… I have to learn to live with it now and stop questioning myself."

The "My Heart Will Go On" singer also recently revealed she first had an inkling that controlling her voice had become difficult as far back as 2008. But, after her many concert tours and a Las Vegas residency, it took being sidelined by the pandemic in 2020 to allow doctors to finally do the detective work required to accurately identify her illness.

Lexy Perez contributed to this report.

2024-07-26T22:22:52Z dg43tfdfdgfd