PARIS (AP) — The 2024 Paris Olympics opening ceremony went off with only after a rough start to the Summer Games, with suspected acts of sabotage targeting France’s flagship high-speed rail network and rainy skies over the Seine river , where athletes are set to parade. She received a standing ovation at this year’s Grammys when she made a surprise appearance to present the final award. That was the beginning of a comeback, completed tonight.
Celine Dion’s Olympics performance marks her return to performing after years. She was diagnosed with stiff person syndrome in late 2022, causing her to postpone a tour. 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.
The identity of the person who would light the Olympic cauldron (spoiler alert: Marie-José Pérec and Teddy Riner) was up in the air ...
and so, it turns out, was the cauldron itself: a ring of fire carried by a hot-air balloon. The ring is 7 meters in diameter (about 23 feet), and the balloon is 30 meters (about 100 feet) tall and 22 meters (about 72 feet) wide. Instead of the usual ground-bound cauldron used at most Summe.