History was made at the 2024 Paris Olympics opening ceremony with global icon Celine Dion making a comeback to the stage with her first performance in four years.
Global icon, Celine Dion made a comeback to the stage with her first live performance in four years, giving the world a piece of her magic and talent.
The Canadian superstar brought the colourful ceremony to a climax, going solo on the Eiffel Tower in her first live performance that came close to eighteen months after sharing that she had been diagnosed with Stiff Person Syndrome (SPS).
Celine Dion’s powerful performance
Her powerful voice that made a global superstar was cut through the air in a typical powerhouse performance that came after therapy to “rebuild” her voice following her diagnosis with SPS.
Accompanied by a pianist on the first level of the Eiffel Tower with a giant illuminated Olympic rings hanging above them, Dion who is famously known as the “queen of power ballads” gave a powerful rendition of Edith Piaf’s classic L’Hymne à l’Amour.
The 56-year-old tsar’s performance was hailed by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau who noted that she “is a Canadian icon, an incredible talent, and she overcame a lot to be there tonight”.
Athletes taking part in the global showpiece paraded down Seine River on boats with the crowd applauding them as they made their way through some of Paris’ iconic landmarks.
Athletes pass through most iconic landmarks in Paris
The boats with flag-waving athletes passed landmarks like the Louvre, Eiffel Tower, Grand Palais, and Arc de Triomphe.
Thousands followed the colourful display from stands lining the river with the athletes terminating their cruise ended in front of the famous Trocadéro, opposite the Eiffel Tower, where the Olympic cauldron was lit.
More than 100 heads of state and governments were in attendance, including including Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron with tens of thousands of police officers deployed.
