Despite the rain, Celine Dion delivered a breathtaking performance at the Paris Olympics opening ceremony. Following her 2022 diagnosis with Stiff Person Syndrome, which had kept her from performing, Dion made a triumphant return with a stunning rendition of “Hymne à l’amour” from an illuminated Eiffel Tower.
At the nearly four-hour concert, Lady Gaga and her pink pompom-adorned dancers performed a mesmerizing rendition of “Mon Truc en Plumes” down the Seine. Thanks for starting the Paris Olympics and celebrating French culture, Gaga tweeted.
A pre-recorded section also featured Zinedine Zidane carrying the Olympic torch through Paris. As a fitting musical finale to this historic opening ceremony, Celine sang a stunning solo. Her enchanting voice resounded along the Seine River in Paris, and her adoring fans were overjoyed to witness her live performance again.
Thomas Jolly, the artistic director of the opening ceremony, shared the reasoning behind Celine Dion’s selection to conclude the event. “In the ceremony, we feature a love anthem, ‘L’Hymne A l’Amour.’ We all agreed that we wanted to end the show with this song,” Jolly explained to Reuters. “Our first thought was straightforward: we wanted the best singer for love songs, and that’s Céline Dion.”
Jolly further elaborated on why Dion was the perfect choice for this pivotal performance. “It was a natural choice to ask her to perform to close the ceremony.” As one of the most renowned and beloved vocalists of love ballads, Dion’s powerful yet emotive delivery was seen as the ideal way to bring the opening ceremony to a rousing and memorable conclusion.
Celine Dion’s participation in the closing performance was a testament to her enduring status as a global icon of romantic music. Her inclusion not only elevated the emotional impact of the ceremony’s finale, but also cemented the event’s legacy as a showcasing of world-class artistry and talent. Dion’s stirring rendition of “L’Hymne A l’Amour” left a lasting impression on all in attendance, solidifying the ceremony’s status as a truly unforgettable spectacle.