Celine Dion lights up Eiffel Tower stage during Paris 2024 opening ceremony

Celine Dion lights up Eiffel Tower stage during Paris 2024 opening ceremony

Updated: 7:44 PM EDT Jul 26, 2024

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The Paris 2024 Olympic Games opened with a unique Parade of Nations on the River Seine and an upbeat performance from Lady Gaga. After every nation floated down the Seine on a boat as an introduction to the games, legendary French-Canadian vocalist Celine Dion took the stage to sing live for the first time since 2019. Dion closed the ceremony on Friday with a performance from the first stage of the Eiffel Tower, singing a classic, Edith Piaf’s “L’Hymne à l’amour.”The live performance marks the superstar entertainer’s first concert performance since publicly announcing her diagnosis of stiff person syndrome, “a rare, progressive syndrome that affects the nervous system, specifically the brain and spinal cord,” according to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.Dion, 56, announced in December 2022 that she was taking time off from professional commitments to focus on her health after revealing her diagnosis. At the time, she said the condition did not allow her “to sing the way I’m used to.”The last time the “My Heart Will Go On” singer performed live was in July 2019, in London, England. CNN contributed to this report.

PARIS —

The Paris 2024 Olympic Games opened with a unique Parade of Nations on the River Seine and an upbeat performance from Lady Gaga.

After every nation floated down the Seine on a boat as an introduction to the games, legendary French-Candian vocalist Celine Dion took the stage to sing live for the first time since 2019. Dion closed the ceremony on Friday with a performance from the first stage of the Eiffel Tower, singing a classic, Edith Piaf’s “L’Hymne à l’amour.”

The live performance marks the superstar entertainer’s first concert performance since publicly announcing her diagnosis of stiff person syndrome, “a rare, progressive syndrome that affects the nervous system, specifically the brain and spinal cord,” according to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.

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Dion, 56, announced in December 2022 that she was taking time off from professional commitments to focus on her health after revealing her diagnosis. At the time, she said the condition did not allow her “to sing the way I’m used to.”

The last time the “My Heart Will Go On” singer performed live was in July 2019, in London, England.

CNN contributed to this report.