Céline Dion sings at Paris Olympic Games opening ceremony

Quebec singer had not performed since being diagnosed with stiff-person syndrome

Kevin Maimann · CBC News ·

Céline Dion sang at the Paris Olympic Games opening ceremony on Friday, marking her first public performance since 2020.

The Games saved Dion for the end of the four-hour-long event, when she performed French singer Edith Piaf’s 1950 song Hymne à l’amour from the balcony of the glowing Eiffel Tower after the Olympic torch was lit.

Viewers were quick to praise the performance on social media, posting that Dion’s singing was beautiful, inspiring and a “triumphant comeback.”

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau wrote on X (formerly Twitter): “Céline, it’s great to see you singing again.” Trudeau called her “a Canadian icon” and “an incredible talent” who “overcame a lot to be there tonight.”

The My Heart Will Go On singer, who has won five Grammys and 20 Juno Awards, stepped away from the spotlight in 2022 after being diagnosed with stiff-person syndrome, which severely limited her movement and hampered her ability to sing and perform.

The documentary I Am: Celine Dion, released in June, followed Dion’s journey to recovery and her hopes of singing live again.

Rumours had been swirling for days that Dion would perform after she was spotted Tuesday outside Le Royal Monceau hotel in Paris, greeting fans and posing for pictures, and French President Emmanuel Macron and other officials spoke about her arrival.

A French journalist posted on X (formerly Twitter) that Dion and Lady Gaga had rehearsed a different Piaf song, La vie en Rose, together as a duet.