Celine Dion is speaking out after her emotional performance during the 2024 Paris Olympics Opening Ceremony.
“I’m honored to have performed tonight, for the Paris 2024 Opening Ceremony, and so full of joy to be back in one of my very favorite cities,” she shared on social media on Friday, July 26.
Dion, 56, concluded her message with a tribute to the “amazing athletes,” acknowledging their “stories of sacrifice and determination, pain and perseverance.”
“All of you have been so focused on your dream, and whether or not you take home a medal, I hope that being here means that it has come true for you,” the icon added. “You should all be so proud; we know how hard you have worked to be the best of the best. Stay focused, keep going, my heart is with you!”
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Standing at the base of the Eiffel Tower, Dion delivered a powerful rendition of Edith Piaf’s “Hymne à l’amour” to close the 2024 Paris Olympics Opening Ceremony. Her performance followed the official opening of the Olympic Games and the lighting of the Olympic cauldron in the Tuileries Garden.
This performance marked Dion’s Olympics comeback after she opened the 1996 games in Atlanta with “The Power of the Dream.” It was also her first live performance since announcing her stiff-person syndrome diagnosis in December 2022.
“I’ve always been an open book and I wasn’t ready to say anything before, but I’m ready now,” Dion revealed in an Instagram video at the time. “I’ve been dealing with problems with my health for a long time, and it’s been really difficult for me to face these challenges and to talk about everything that I’ve been going through.”
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Dion explained that her illness causes “spasms” that “affect every aspect of my daily life, sometimes causing difficulties when I walk and not allowing me to use my vocal cords to sing the way I’m used to.”
“I have a great team of doctors working alongside me to help me get better and my precious children, who are supporting me and giving me hope,” she continued. “I’m working hard with my sports medicine therapist every day to build back my strength and my ability to perform again, but I have to admit it’s been a struggle.”
Dion concluded with a focus on her health: “I have no choice but to concentrate on my health at this moment, and I have hope that I’m on the road to recovery. This is my focus, and I’m doing everything that I can to recuperate.”
