PARIS — 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.” 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.” Celine Dion performs Friday at the Eiffel Tower during the opening ceremony for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, France.
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. “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. Celine Dion performs Friday on the Eiffel Tower during the opening ceremony for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, France. “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.
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) Actors perform during the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, July 26, 2024 in Paris, France. (Wang Dongzhen/Pool Photo via AP) Egypt athletes leap while participating in the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, July 26, 2024, in Paris, France.
(AP Photo/Andy Wong) This photo released by the Olympic Broadcasting Services shows Canadian Singer Celine Dion performing on the Eiffel Tower during the opening ceremony for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, France, Friday, July 26, 2024. (Olympic Broadcasting Services via AP) Performers watch the opening video along the Seine River in Paris, France, during the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, July 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Morry Gash, Pool) Performers walk past a family on their balcony in Paris, France, during the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, July 26, 2024.
(AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson) Singer Celine Dion performs from the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France, during the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, July 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr) Celine Dion performs in Paris, France, during the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, July 26, 2024. (AP Photo/David J.
Phillip) A performer sits on a bridge in Paris, France, during the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, July 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth) A performer moves across the river Seine on a high wire in Paris, France, during the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, July 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson) Performers balance on ladders along the Seine River in Paris, France, during the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, July 26, 2024.
(AP Photo/Petros GiannakourisPool) Smoke billows near windows as performers participate during the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, July 26, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue, Pool) Planes perform over the Seine River in Paris, France, during the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, July 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader) A tight rope walker performs in Paris, France, during the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, July 26, 2024.
(AP Photo/Aaron Favila) A tight rope walker performs in Paris, France, during the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, July 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila) A torch bearer runs atop the Musee d'Orsay, in Paris, France, during the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, July 26, 2024. (Peter Cziborra/Pool Photo via AP) Acrobats perform during the opening ceremony for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, France, Friday, July 26, 2024.
(Maddie Meyer/Pool Photo via AP) Snoop Dogg upon arrival at the Louis Vuitton Foundation on the eve of Paris Olympics opening ceremony, at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Thursday, July 25, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell) Pharrell Williams upon arrival at the Louis Vuitton Foundation on the eve of Paris Olympics opening ceremony, at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Thursday, July 25, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell) Queen Latifah upon arrival at the Louis Vuitton Foundation on the eve of Paris Olympics opening ceremony, at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Thursday, July 25, 2024, in Paris, France.
(AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell) Baz Luhrmann, left, and Anna Wintour upon arrival at the Louis Vuitton Foundation on the eve of Paris Olympics opening ceremony, at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Thursday, July 25, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell) Chrissy Teigen and John Legend arrive with their children, Miles, foreground left and Luna in Paris, France, before the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, July 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) U.
S. rapper, artist, and designer Pharell Williams holds the Olympic torch as part of the 2024 Summer Olympics torch relay ahead of the opening ceremony in Saint-Denis, outside Paris, Friday, July 26, 2024. (Stephane De Sakutin/Pool Photo via AP) Anna Wintour, Vogue editor, and director Baz Luhrmann arrive in Paris, France, before the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, July 26, 2024.
(AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) Entertainers Ariana Grande, right, and Cynthia Erivo arrive in Paris, France, before the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, July 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) Entertainers Ariana Grande, left, and Cynthia Erivo arrive in Paris, France, before the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, July 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) Kelly Clarkson arrives in Paris, France, before the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, July 26, 2024.
(AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) Serena Williams arrives in Paris, France, before the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, July 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) French musician Marc Cerrone arrives in Paris, France, before the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, July 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) Michelle Yeoh gestures in Paris, France, during the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, July 26, 2024.
(AP Photo/Thibault Camus) Athletes from Brazil's delegation wave Brazilian flags as they sail in a boat on the river Seine duringt the opening ceremony for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, France, Friday, July 26, 2024. (Carl de Souza/Pool Photo via AP) Lady Gaga performs in Paris, France, ahead of the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, July 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno) Lebron James looks on prior to the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, France, Friday, July 26, 2024.
(Quinn Rooney/Photo Photo via AP) Lady Gaga performs in Paris, France, ahead the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, July 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno) Lady Gaga performs in Paris, France, ahead the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, July 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno) Lady Gaga performs in Paris, France, ahead the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, July 26, 2024.
(AP Photo/Luca Bruno) A heart shape made with red smoke by the French Air Force elite acrobatic flying team "Patrouille de France" floats in the air near Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris, France, during the opening ceremony for the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, July 26, 2024. (Julien de Rosa/Pool Photo via AP) Athletes from Spain travel by boat down the Seine River in Paris, France, during the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, July 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader) Israel's Andrea Murez and Peter Paltchik carry their country's flag in Paris, France, during the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, July 26, 2024.
(AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth) Olga Safronova and Aslanbek Shymbergenov, Kazakhstan's flag bearers, are seen on a boat as it makes its way along the Seine River in Paris, France, during the opening ceremony for the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, July 26, 2024. (Michael Reaves/Pool Photo via AP) Athletes from Netherland's delegation sail on the Seine during the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, France, Friday, July 26, 2024. (Thomas Samson/Pool Photo via AP) Team Australia's Eddie Ockenden waves the flag as the team looks on during the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, France, Friday, July 26, 2024.
(Quinn Rooney/Photo Photo via AP) Members of Team Switzerland wave to spectators in Paris, France, during the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, July 26, 2024. (Martin Meissner/Pool Photo via AP) Denmark athletes carry umbrellas while participating in the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, July 26, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Andy Wong) Indian athletes wave their national flags from a boat on the Seine River in Paris, France, during the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, July 26, 2024.
(AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi, Pool) Athletes from the United States travel by boat down the Seine River in Paris, France, during the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, July 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader) France's Florent Manaudou and Melina Robert-Michon travel along the Seine River with teammates in Paris, France, during the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, July 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth) Mauritius' team cheers as they move down the Seine River in Paris, France, during the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, July 26, 2024.
(AP Photo/Morry Gash, Pool) Britain athletes walk near the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France, during the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, July 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Andy Wong) Athletes of Japan cheer aboard the team's boat as it makes its way along the Seine in Paris, France, during the opening ceremony for the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, July 26, 2024. (Michael Reaves/Pool Photo via AP) China's Olympic athletes wave their national flag as they sail on the Seine River past the Eiffel Tower during the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, France, Friday, July 26, 2024.
(Cao Can/Pool Photo via AP) Residents stand on their balconies over looking the Seine River in Paris, France, ahead of the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, July 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader) Smoke in the colors of the France flag are set off in Paris, France, at the start of the opening ceremony for the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, July 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue, Pool) Team Greece's boat parades along the Seine river in Paris, France, during the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, July 26, 2024.
(AP Photo/Luca Bruno) France security forces stand guard atop a building along the Seine River in Paris, France, during the opening ceremony for the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, July 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue, Pool) South Africa, left, and other countries move on a boat along the Seine River in Paris, France, during the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, July 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth) A television in a cafe shows the Bangladesh delegation riding a boat in Paris, France, during the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, July 26, 2024.
(AP Photo/Dita Alangkara) Athletes of Greece aboard a boat as it makes its way along the Seine in Paris, France, during the opening ceremony for the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, July 26, 2024. (Ann Wang/Pool Photo via AP) The Olympic torch travels by boat as ceremonial smoke in the colors of the France flag appear over the Seine River Paris, France, during the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, July 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader) Spectators applaud athletes during the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, France, Friday, July 26, 2024.
(Thomas Samson/Pool Photo via AP) People wave from balconies in Paris, France, during the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, July 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man, Pool) Greece's team parades along the Seine river during the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, July 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena) A torchbearer carries the Olympic flame over a building along the Seine River in Paris, France, during the opening ceremony for the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, July 26, 2024.
(AP Photo/Bernat Armangue, Pool) Athletes travel by boat along the Seine river during the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics, in Paris, France, Friday, July 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan) People in the Montmartre district use umbrellas to protect from the rain in Paris, France, during the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, July 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara) This aerial photo shows the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France, during the opening ceremony for the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, July 26, 2024.
(Lionel Bonaventure/Pool Photo via AP) Cook Islands' Alex Beddoes and Lanihei Connolly wave their flag from a boat in Paris, France, during the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, July 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man, Pool) Saudi Arabia athletes walk across a bridge near the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France, during the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, July 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Andy Wong) Team Germany travel down the Seine River past Academie de France in Paris, France, during the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, July 26, 2024.
(AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi) A boat carrying the Refugees Olympic Team pass as they ride along the Seine River as spectators wave in Paris, France, during the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, July 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr) Team Greece travel by boat down the Seine River in Paris, France, during the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, July 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi) Athletes from Canada travel by boat past the the Seine River in Paris, France, during the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, July 26, 2024.
(AP Photo/Aaron Favila) Athletes of Japan, right, travel by boat along the Seine river during the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics, in Paris, France, Friday, July 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan) Lady Gaga performs in Paris, France, ahead the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, July 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno) Entertainers Ariana Grande, right, and Cynthia Erivo arrive in Paris, France, before the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, July 26, 2024.
(AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) Lady Gaga performs in Paris, France, ahead of the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, July 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno) Performers dance along the banks of the Seine River in Paris, France, during the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, July 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Petros GiannakourisPool) Spike Lee upon arrival at the Louis Vuitton Foundation on the eve of Paris Olympics opening ceremony, at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Thursday, July 25, 2024, in Paris, France.
(AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell) Snoop Dogg carries the Olympic torch at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, July 26, 2024, in Saint-Denis, outside Paris, France. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard) Entertainer Ariana Grande arrives in Paris, France, before the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, July 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) A general view shows delegations sailing on the Seine River during the opening ceremony for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, France, Friday, July 26, 2024.
(Anne-Christine Poujoulat/Pool Photo via AP) Athletes from Spain travel by boat along the Seine river during the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics, in Paris, France, Friday, July 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan) Delegations arrive on the Iena Bridge, in Paris, France, during the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, July 26, 2024. (Ludovic Marin/Pool Photo via AP) Get local news delivered to your inbox!.
