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"In
the ceremony we have a love anthem and that's L'Hymne A l'Amour.
We all wanted to finish the show with this song and our first
idea was very simple and clear. We wanted to ask the best singer
to sing love and this is Celine Dion," artistic director Thomas
Jolly told Reuters.
"It was obvious for us to ask her to do that to close the
ceremony."
The 56-year-old singer said in late 2022 that she had been
diagnosed with a rare neurological disorder called stiff-person
syndrome that causes muscle spasms.
The syndrome causes muscle rigidity and increased sensitivity to
sound, touch and emotional stimuli that can trigger spasms. The
condition led the multiple Grammy winner to cancel all of her
tour dates for 2023 and 2024.
The Canadian singer, who started her career singing in French,
had not performed live since March 2020, when she appeared in
New Jersey.
"How proud we are! Our Celine singing Edith Piaf's L'hymne à
l'amour at the Opening Ceremonies of the Paris Olympic Games,"
Quebec Premier Francois Legault wrote on X.
"A proud Quebecer from Charlemagne is on stage at the Opening
Ceremony! Celine Dion is a Canadian icon, an incredible talent,
and she overcame a lot to be there tonight," Canada Prime
Minister Justin Trudeau wrote on X.
"Celine, it’s great to see you singing again."
Dion, best known for the "Titanic" movie theme song "My Heart
Will Go On", was first spotted in Paris on Tuesday, triggering
speculation that she would be part of Friday's extravaganza.
(Reporting by Julien Pretot; Editing by Alison Williams and
Pritha Sarkar)
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